What is Conclave film about?

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What is Conclave film about? Robert Harris’ fascinating 2016 thriller and October 25 film. Semiotic analysis of the movie poster.

Conclave is a religious thriller directed by Edward Berger, known for his Oscar-winning production All Quiet on the Western Front, among others. The film premiered at the Telluride Film Festival in September 2024. It will enter wider theatrical distribution on October 25, 2024, in the United States. The screenplay adapts Robert Harris’ 2016 novel. The novel tells the story of one of the Catholic Church’s most secret and important rituals – the election of a new pope. The cast includes Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, and Isabella Rossellini, among others. Cardinal Lawrence (played by Fiennes) must preside over a conclave to elect the Pope’s successor after the Pope’s death. As the assembly progresses, intrigues and secrets are revealed that could shake the foundations of the Church.

Denotative analysis

Denotation includes a literal description of the visible elements of the poster. In the foreground, we see four cardinals dressed in traditional church attire – cassocks in black with red elements. The most prominent figure is the cardinal, played by Ralph Fiennes, who stands in the center of the poster. With his hand over his heart, he symbolizes loyalty or devotion with this gesture. In the background, at the bottom of the poster, we see the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica and St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican – places that are symbolic of the Catholic Church. The poster is dominated by cool colors with contrasting reds.

Connotative analysis

The connotation includes the cultural associations and symbolic meanings of the poster. The image of cardinals in liturgical garb clearly evokes clerical and religious authority, especially in the context of the Vatican. The black and red of their robes have great significance here. Black symbolizes solemnity and authority. Red is the color of martyrdom and blood, which can refer to sacrifice, but also the struggle for power. The Vatican in the background further reinforces the connotation, suggesting that the film is about the highest power structures in the Church. The hand gesture on the heart of the central character may also connote moral conflict, loyalty to the Church or internal dilemmas about one’s own values.

The form of the poster itself – with a cross in the background that dominates the characters – is a key symbol, suggesting the religious and spiritual meaning of the film, but at the same time casting a shadow over the cardinals, which may suggest the darker aspects of their actions.

Commutation test

The commutation test involves analyzing the change in elements of a poster to assess how it affects its meaning. So let’s try swapping the cardinals’ black robes for white. White, in an ecclesiastical context, symbolizes purity, innocence and divine glory. Dressing the cardinals in white would suggest impeccability and lack of conflict. This change would alter the tone of the film to a more positive one. Black, on the other hand, in the current context, heightens the sense of mystery and power, and may even suggest danger.

Changing the background from the cross to something more neutral, such as the Vatican landscape, would relegate the central religious symbolism to the background. As a result, the film would lose some of its mystical and spiritual dimension. This change would significantly alter the overall tone and impact of the film. Thus, changing these key elements significantly alters the interpretation of the poster, blurring the tension and drama surrounding the election of a new pope.

Pectoral cross
The pectoral – a cross worn on the chest – symbolizes spiritual authority and connection to the sacred. The gesture of touching it expresses spiritual empowerment or confirmation of a religious role. Freepik AI.

What is Conclave film about? Myth analysis

From the perspective of mythology, as understood by Roland Barthes (who analyzed cultural myths and their deconstruction), the film Conclave touches on deeper narratives related to power, authority, and mystery. The lens of cultural myths and their underlying meanings explores these themes. The conclave itself is a sacred myth, depicted as a process of divine intervention in the election of the Church’s earthly leader. However, in reality, it is often associated with politics, intrigue, and human weaknesses.

The cross on the poster, which is the dominant symbol, hints at the age-old myth of spiritual guidance and sacrifice. However, in the context of the film, these myths are broken down and revealed to be full of conflict and internal tensions. In this way, the poster, like the film itself, seems to undermine the idea of pure spirituality. It shows spirituality rather as a power struggle in which human ambition plays as important a role as faith.

Conclave is the closed process of selecting a new pope by the cardinals of the Catholic Church, which is historically and symbolically linked to the concept of divine inspiration. However, in the context of the film Conclave and the poster, the conclave appears more as a scene of human intrigue, political gamesmanship and internal conflicts at the heart of the spiritual authority that is the Vatican.

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