DCUM Forum

Anonymous

02/18/2025 11:13 Subject: Conclave film - excellent

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Very meh.

Don’t get what the big deal about this movie is. There wasn’t much intrigue. I won’t spoil for others who haven’t seen it. I’m Catholic, so I know that clergy are no more holy or infallible than anyone else. To me it was more like a work of nonfiction. lol

It was way better than the majority of popular US movies out in the Fall and even now - so many marvel/ super hero/ horror flick/ dystopian future/ hyper violent fare on offer.

Ralph F and Isabella R were splendid. The filming was creative and personalities well honed.

I was raised Catholic and am also well aware that the pontiffs are very human. However the drama and calculating intrigue under the pious exteriors captured our attention the whole way through - with no pointless blood letting .. the preposterous ending eas hilarious and nice light relief.

But that preposterous ending was already done decades ago in a movie called Mona Lisa. Although as a Catholic feminist, it was one of the few points of the movie I actually liked, because it was a very subversive statement. The fact that so many think the movie "got off track" at the point or was "hilarious" as you stated is sexist.

I left Catholicism due to feminist beliefs. It is outrageous that old men in the Vatican get to decide on reproductive policies for women . Are they going to raise all these babies born to poor women who often can’t take care of the kids they have already? Catholicism may be on wane in the West but remains very strong in many African and Latin American countries. Wake me up when they welcome female pontiffs to the Vatican table.

Anonymous

02/18/2025 10:34 Subject: Conclave film - excellent

I really liked it. I think it's a thought-provoking movie about how leaders are chosen, and not just limited to the Catholic Church. It explored the tension inherent in the selection of leadership, between principles and pragmatism. And also explored the value of rules-based systems for fairness and whether those systems actual serve their goal.

The movie is intentionally ambiguous and doesn't answer any of these questions for the viewer. But presents them and offers a variety of avatars in the characters for exploring your feelings about these issues.

In that context, the ending makes perfect sense because after two hours of struggling over how to reconcile the above issues, they arrived at what felt like the perfect solution, without compromise. And then yet another complication is thrown into the process, highlighting the degree to which there are *no* perfect solutions, no resolutions without compromise. The process will always be struggle and no system can eliminate the struggle. We have to keep grappling with these issues over and over again.

I also thought the cinematography and the visual story were very striking and well done. And of course it wouldn't work without excellent performances. Just all around a great film.

Anonymous

02/18/2025 10:26 Subject: Conclave film - excellent

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Very meh.

Don’t get what the big deal about this movie is. There wasn’t much intrigue. I won’t spoil for others who haven’t seen it. I’m Catholic, so I know that clergy are no more holy or infallible than anyone else. To me it was more like a work of nonfiction. lol

It was way better than the majority of popular US movies out in the Fall and even now - so many marvel/ super hero/ horror flick/ dystopian future/ hyper violent fare on offer.

Ralph F and Isabella R were splendid. The filming was creative and personalities well honed.

I was raised Catholic and am also well aware that the pontiffs are very human. However the drama and calculating intrigue under the pious exteriors captured our attention the whole way through - with no pointless blood letting .. the preposterous ending eas hilarious and nice light relief.

But that preposterous ending was already done decades ago in a movie called Mona Lisa. Although as a Catholic feminist, it was one of the few points of the movie I actually liked, because it was a very subversive statement. The fact that so many think the movie "got off track" at the point or was "hilarious" as you stated is sexist.

Anonymous

02/17/2025 22:42 Subject: Conclave film - excellent

I watched it last night.
I love RF in everything. He was great.
I loved the visuals and overall feel.
Thought the ending was a bit silly and took away from the film.
I’m sick of Stanley Tucci. I feel like he’s played the same character in every movie since The Devil Wears Prada.

Overall I really enjoyed it. I like beautiful quiet movies where not much happens.

Anonymous

02/17/2025 22:33 Subject: Conclave film - excellent

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Very meh.

Don’t get what the big deal about this movie is. There wasn’t much intrigue. I won’t spoil for others who haven’t seen it. I’m Catholic, so I know that clergy are no more holy or infallible than anyone else. To me it was more like a work of nonfiction. lol

It was way better than the majority of popular US movies out in the Fall and even now - so many marvel/ super hero/ horror flick/ dystopian future/ hyper violent fare on offer.

Ralph F and Isabella R were splendid. The filming was creative and personalities well honed.

I was raised Catholic and am also well aware that the pontiffs are very human. However the drama and calculating intrigue under the pious exteriors captured our attention the whole way through - with no pointless blood letting .. the preposterous ending eas hilarious and nice light relief.

Anonymous

02/17/2025 22:20 Subject: Conclave film - excellent

Anonymous wrote:Very meh.

Don’t get what the big deal about this movie is. There wasn’t much intrigue. I won’t spoil for others who haven’t seen it. I’m Catholic, so I know that clergy are no more holy or infallible than anyone else. To me it was more like a work of nonfiction. lol

Anonymous

02/12/2025 19:24 Subject: Conclave film - excellent

Anonymous wrote:The ending was silly. The rest of it was super slow. Beautiful visuals and fine performances but not a great film by any stretch.

Tastes differ - we loved it … the ending was tongue in cheek. The acting was excellent across the board. Give me this over the endless Marvel and horror flick drivel at the theaters …

Anonymous

02/12/2025 18:42 Subject: Conclave film - excellent

The ending was silly. The rest of it was super slow. Beautiful visuals and fine performances but not a great film by any stretch.

Anonymous

02/12/2025 18:14 Subject: Conclave film - excellent

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Great film except for the ending. They never would have voted a new cardinal and some one they knew nothing about to be pope.

quote=Anonymous]Great film except for the ending. They never would have voted a new cardinal and some one they knew nothing about to be pope.

We’ve seen two very surprising elections in recent history.

In 1978, the election of the first non-Italian pope in 455 years, (and at 58, the youngest pope in nearly 200 years) Cardinal Karol Jozef Wojtyla was a huge shock. Both the Catholic and secular press scrambled to pronounce his name, find information about his life, and even in some cases to locate Krakòw on a map. No one saw John Paul II coming.

In 2013 it was evident that there would be a struggle between a Curia reformer who would bring focus to the Church in the southern hemisphere and a return to a (probably Italian) pope who would protect the Curia. But the election of 76 year old Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio in five ballots was very surprising, and was reportedly due to his extreme humility and aura of holiness. Knowing that this Conclave inspired the book underscores the intent.

The film is very faithful to the book, and yes, the new pope is
spoiler:
🛑🛑 intersex in both. What changes is how Benitez himself learns that🛑🛑

The world has changed dramatically since the writing of the book, and the bomb plot, as well as the shift from Baghdad to Kabul are meant to focus the viewer on the conflict presented by Islamophobia, war, terrorism. Most of the Cardinals have clear agendas and ambitions, but one has served in a most Christ like way. One has served at great danger, and it his service in a fundamentalist Muslim country that requires his appointment as Cardinal be in secret. Ultimately, the Cardinals elect the one among them who has most profoundly dedicated his life to service.

The ending has nothing to do with what so many are fixated on. At its simplest, Conclave is about believing, trusting, and serving God in a fallen world that humans can never understand or control.

The movie was well acted and intriguing, but it did not accomplish this message in the slightest. As someone who did not read the book, I got none of this from the movie

Anonymous

02/12/2025 12:28 Subject: Conclave film - excellent

Very meh.

Anonymous

02/12/2025 12:28 Subject: Conclave film - excellent

Anonymous wrote:I’m not a Catholic but I’m tired of the Catholic bashing. It just doesn’t seem realistic that ALL the cardinals are greedy, or liars, or awful in some way.

I think the point is that all the Cardinals who have been at it for decades are of the Church. Which is flawed. They are shaped by power.

Anonymous

01/07/2025 14:21 Subject: Conclave film - excellent

Anonymous wrote:Great film except for the ending. They never would have voted a new cardinal and some one they knew nothing about to be pope.

quote=Anonymous]Great film except for the ending. They never would have voted a new cardinal and some one they knew nothing about to be pope.

We’ve seen two very surprising elections in recent history.

In 1978, the election of the first non-Italian pope in 455 years, (and at 58, the youngest pope in nearly 200 years) Cardinal Karol Jozef Wojtyla was a huge shock. Both the Catholic and secular press scrambled to pronounce his name, find information about his life, and even in some cases to locate Krakòw on a map. No one saw John Paul II coming.

In 2013 it was evident that there would be a struggle between a Curia reformer who would bring focus to the Church in the southern hemisphere and a return to a (probably Italian) pope who would protect the Curia. But the election of 76 year old Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio in five ballots was very surprising, and was reportedly due to his extreme humility and aura of holiness. Knowing that this Conclave inspired the book underscores the intent.

The film is very faithful to the book, and yes, the new pope is
spoiler:
🛑🛑 intersex in both. What changes is how Benitez himself learns that🛑🛑

The world has changed dramatically since the writing of the book, and the bomb plot, as well as the shift from Baghdad to Kabul are meant to focus the viewer on the conflict presented by Islamophobia, war, terrorism. Most of the Cardinals have clear agendas and ambitions, but one has served in a most Christ like way. One has served at great danger, and it his service in a fundamentalist Muslim country that requires his appointment as Cardinal be in secret. Ultimately, the Cardinals elect the one among them who has most profoundly dedicated his life to service.

The ending has nothing to do with what so many are fixated on. At its simplest, Conclave is about believing, trusting, and serving God in a fallen world that humans can never understand or control.