In the middle is everyone else, including a slew of talented actors like John Lithgow and Lucian Msamati who play alternate cardinals vying for the papacy, each representing a distinctly timely view of how power should be exercised over the years and the culture of coming wars, ecumenical or otherwise. Trying to capture all their egos is Fiennes’ central Lawrence, a priest who is no longer sure he believes in God but feels it’s a divine mission to bend rules and open laptops if it might mean uncovering possible behind-the-scenes political manipulation .

“Obviously, you always want a movie to be of its time and reflective of things,” Berger says of the film’s incredible release window. “We lost the ability, and that’s reflected in the film, to really have a conversation and a civilized disagreement. In a way, the world is made of fundamentalists who are so sure of what they believe, and a lot of what the film is about is accepting uncertainty.”

Despite the film’s heavy themes, the picture is actually quite a crackling pot with more hard turns and bumps than its setting would suggest. We won’t give any of them away, but it’s ironic that the film comes out on the eve of a US election that’s being watched around the world with bated breath — an election that has had its own surprises that might have seemed absurd had they appeared also up in a prestige thriller which Conclave.

“We obviously didn’t plan for the movie to be released this year,” Berger muses at the irony. “We’ve been doing it for years, so it’s a coincidence. At the same time, it’s interesting to see how many twists and turns you do in a movie, but you’re still almost blown away by reality. (This US election) has even more twists, and I hope it has a good result within a couple of weeks that is satisfactory to many people in the world.”

That said, Berger didn’t design this film solely to be a reflection of 2024. As the first film Berger has made since receiving a screenwriting Oscar nomination for All quiet on the western fronta film that was also nominated for Best Picture, Conclave was meant to be a breath of fresh air for the filmmaker. After making a largely visual and silent film about the relentless nature of war, here comes a thriller where most of the tension comes from dialogue and intellectual ideas that enter cerebral, and sometimes physical, combat.

The German-Swiss director likens the project to a palate cleanser after having “the same conversation” with himself for five years All quiet. However, both films still have patriarchal male leaders who enjoy swaggering around while imposing terms on each other. Perhaps that’s why Berger credits his path to relating to Conclave is not just Cardinal Lawrence’s doubts, but one sermon in particular that Fiennes gives early in the film and before the conclave officially begins. During his speech before the doors are closed and the windows covered, Fiennes emphasizes the importance of doubt in a pope who will be asked to represent every opinion, perspective and soul in the Catholic world.