Of Holy Men, & Haunted Women

When The Vatican Votes: Conclave & The Politics Of Faith

As the real-world papal conclave unfolds, Edward Berger’s Conclave — now streaming on Prime Video — returns to relevance. Here, we revisit Rahul Desai’ s review of this sly Vatican thriller.

A LEADING CANDIDATE for Best Picture at the 2025 Oscars, Edward Berger’s Conclave can best be described as papal pulp and Vatican noir — an energetic, entertaining, goofy and almost sardonic account of the closed-doors process (“Conclave”) that elects a new pope. The hallowed College of Cardinals, led by its dean Thomas Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes), convenes after the pope's death and holds a ballot for its four top contenders. Like a holy reality series, there's investigative intrigue, suspense, deceit, damnation, gossip, secrets, kindness and underdog stealth. Little by little, the reverence of the famously clandestine outfit is dismantled; like a royal family, they become self-important men in robes bickering in a battle for cultural relevance and continuity. As tends to be the case with modern-day priests, the cloth and single-minded devotion are fronts for more human and complicated vices. It's hard to tell if the film is amused or amazed with its near-mythical source material — and I suppose that's part of its Oscar-baity aura.

It's part fanfic, part political thriller, part war drama even, but most of all, its real-world parallels are a thing of morbid beauty. To begin with, the four candidates are surrogates for the factions of the outer world: an American liberal whose main aim is to dismantle the chances of his right-wing opponent, a staunch Italian traditionalist whose views on minorities and women are a few centuries old, a strong social conservative from Africa, and a Canadian moderate who isn't as nice as he looks. While they can be reduced to a type in an increasingly divisive planet full of half-democracies and fascist urges, none of them is spared by a sharp script that slowly reveals its childlike idealism and fairytale twist. A newly anointed Mexican archbishop from Afghanistan observes from the sidelines, his innocence and clarity constantly disarming Lawrence and the others at a time of great strife.

While the “superpowers” jostle for power, the voice of real identity — and the oppressed that are often reduced to political pawns and middle east policies — comes into focus. It's a hopelessly hopeful take on how the future of the Roman Catholic Church, or religion itself, need not be any different from the future of civilisation and life itself. Conclave is ripe with enlightenment and narrative absolution without blatant messaging or self-righteous posturing. Berger positions his actors as more than just individuals and characters; they speak for yesterday, today and tomorrow, all while being eerily relatable and fallible. It's a bit like watching Spotlight , where the journalism drama is replaced by procedural wonder and campiness. At several points, the viewer can be forgiven for thinking: “ This is what decides the colour of the smoke?”

Read the entire review here

‘Don’t Punish Us For Our Films’: Megha Ramaswamy On Lalanna’s Song & Making Room For Women

In a conversation with Divya P , the filmmaker unpacks her latest short, working with Parvathy Thiruvothu and Rima Kallingal, and the quiet resilience of women in Indian cinema.

MEGHA RAMASWAMY collaborated as a writer on Bejoy Nambiar’s Shaitan , marking her debut in the filmdom. She then went on to write and direct projects, including the Abhay Deol-starrer film, What Are The Odds . Her latest project, Lalanna’s Song , recently made its OTT premiere on MUBI. The short film features Parvathy Thiruvothu and Rima Kallingal, along with Nakshatra Indrajith in the titular role. In an exclusive interview with OTTplay, Megha Ramaswamy talks about her latest project, working with established actors such as Parvathy Thiruvothu and Rima Kallingal, the significance of short films for women filmmakers and how male journalists have critiqued the works of female filmmakers over the years. Edited excerpts below:

One can interpret Lalanna’s Song in different ways. What is the idea or message that you wanted to convey through the tale of two young mothers (Shoby and Miriam) and their encounter with the 12-year-old Lalanna?

The concept was all about the psychological horror of being women in spaces that are both domestic and external, and the positions they play in the kind of caste they belong to, the spaces they take up and the interactions they have with each other and also reflecting on the kind of strata of society they represent and the internal politics of that which eventually cumulates the story into making them behave the way they do.

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Could you tell us about your casting choices? Were Parvathy, Rima Kallingal, and - Nakshthra your first choices for the roles? How was your experience collaborating with them?

Absolutely. First of all, this casting coup was arranged by Geethu Mohandas ( Moothon director) for me. I was absolutely obsessed with Parvathy and Rima. I used to follow them on Instagram a long time ago, and I love their politics. I love the women they represent and I love what they stand for, and it can only take those kinds of women in reality to portray those characters of Miriam and Shoby. And again, they have to have that nuanced understanding of the politics of the film, which they latched on to immediately.

Nakshatra was the right age, 11 or 12 at that point in time. She is Poornima Indrajith's daughter. We got in touch with her through a beautiful accident of sorts. Again, Geethu was instrumental. I sent the script to her. I was working with Geethu on a project of hers. It somehow came around and the girls were absolutely lovely to work with. They are national treasures for a reason.

Read the entire interview here

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