Conclave (2024)
March 13th, 2025 20:26![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
neo_ultraApparently lots of butthurt Catholics complained about this film and at first I was really confused as to why. The film showed religion in a much better light than religion is in reality. Why, there was not even a single paedophile in the film!
But of course the ending explained the source of the butthurt - as usual, the religious fanatics are afraid of evil vaginas that suck the souls of men into a vortex of sin and degradation. It is honestly mind-boggling to me how any woman can be religious of her own free will, if all religions treat women like they are diseased mindless subhumans.
Anyhow, putting all that aside, I really liked the film. It was visually attractive, all those shots of red Cardinal swarms and all the architectural details of Sistine Chapel! the music really added to the mood, that emphatic string twang every time something important happened really made the viewer sit up. I liked how the film showed all those religious rituals, say what you will about Catholics, but they know how to do pomp and circumstance. Well, they did have about 2000 years to come up with things that impress the punters and sucker them into joining their cult.
The plot was fun. Maybe not exactly clever, but entertaining. It did leave some questions unanswered, such as why everyone suddenly had a change of heart and voted for Benitez. I suppose it would fit with the somewhat heavy-handed symbolism of the film to show a direct impact of divine spirit, but I think I would have preferred a more realistic explanation. I did like all those plot twists and turns that made the candidates drop out one by one, especially because the candidates were such colourful characters. Except Tremblay, who had the character and appearance of lukewarm oatmeal porridge. Kind of surprising that such a bland man managed to do crime, but often criminal tendencies lurk in unexpected places.
In general I quite liked the characters. At times they felt somewhat one-dimensional, such a the caricature villain Tedesco, but he was still fun to watch. The actor who played Benitez is apparently an absolute beginner, but he managed to portray him as absolutely angelic. And I really liked the mix of languages in the film, I wonder if cardinals all really can speak all those languages, or did some cardinals just sit there during the final dramatic speeches and think 'uh, what is even going on right now?'
The big twist in the end was a little surprising, but since I am a normal person and not a Catholic, I don't see why ovaries disqualify Benitez from being a Pope. If he has both sets of genitals, obviously he can choose whether to be be a man or a woman, and he chose to be a man, so he qualifies. Really, there are no worse perverts than religious people, always so concerned about what other people have in their trousers...
All in all, I had a good time watching the film, for a moment or two it even made me feel more sympathetic towards Catholics because in the film they were shown to make a right decision. But of course my positive feelings didn't last because soon afterwards the real life conclave happened and a USAmerican was elected pope. Not sure if that is wilful blindness in the current political climate, or a demonstration of allegiance, gross either way.
But of course the ending explained the source of the butthurt - as usual, the religious fanatics are afraid of evil vaginas that suck the souls of men into a vortex of sin and degradation. It is honestly mind-boggling to me how any woman can be religious of her own free will, if all religions treat women like they are diseased mindless subhumans.
Anyhow, putting all that aside, I really liked the film. It was visually attractive, all those shots of red Cardinal swarms and all the architectural details of Sistine Chapel! the music really added to the mood, that emphatic string twang every time something important happened really made the viewer sit up. I liked how the film showed all those religious rituals, say what you will about Catholics, but they know how to do pomp and circumstance. Well, they did have about 2000 years to come up with things that impress the punters and sucker them into joining their cult.
The plot was fun. Maybe not exactly clever, but entertaining. It did leave some questions unanswered, such as why everyone suddenly had a change of heart and voted for Benitez. I suppose it would fit with the somewhat heavy-handed symbolism of the film to show a direct impact of divine spirit, but I think I would have preferred a more realistic explanation. I did like all those plot twists and turns that made the candidates drop out one by one, especially because the candidates were such colourful characters. Except Tremblay, who had the character and appearance of lukewarm oatmeal porridge. Kind of surprising that such a bland man managed to do crime, but often criminal tendencies lurk in unexpected places.
In general I quite liked the characters. At times they felt somewhat one-dimensional, such a the caricature villain Tedesco, but he was still fun to watch. The actor who played Benitez is apparently an absolute beginner, but he managed to portray him as absolutely angelic. And I really liked the mix of languages in the film, I wonder if cardinals all really can speak all those languages, or did some cardinals just sit there during the final dramatic speeches and think 'uh, what is even going on right now?'
The big twist in the end was a little surprising, but since I am a normal person and not a Catholic, I don't see why ovaries disqualify Benitez from being a Pope. If he has both sets of genitals, obviously he can choose whether to be be a man or a woman, and he chose to be a man, so he qualifies. Really, there are no worse perverts than religious people, always so concerned about what other people have in their trousers...
All in all, I had a good time watching the film, for a moment or two it even made me feel more sympathetic towards Catholics because in the film they were shown to make a right decision. But of course my positive feelings didn't last because soon afterwards the real life conclave happened and a USAmerican was elected pope. Not sure if that is wilful blindness in the current political climate, or a demonstration of allegiance, gross either way.
