The Conclave

I did see Borgia but not showtimes series, I caught the Borgias on Netflix and wow that was a great series, The conclave gives us a peek at Rodrigo as a young cardinal just learning the ropes. A must see if your a fan of The Borgia series.

I would recommend this film to any people interested in history of Europe/Italy during the Renaissance time. The events take place in the year 1458 and describe the political turmoil around the election of the new pontiff. Although young Rodrigo Borja plays a prominent role, this film is not solely about him but about the conclave of cardinals as a whole. The acting is excellent and it is impressive how a film shot in a few closed rooms without any visual effects or fast action sequences can grasp the attention of the viewer by pure strength of dialog and portrayal of character. I especially liked the acting of Brian Blessed (Piccolomini), James Faulkner (Cardinal Guillaume D'Estouteville), Brian Downey (Cardinal Juan De Mella), Rolf Kanies (Cardinal Bessarion) and others.

The film conveys the atmosphere of these times brilliantly and it is tempting to ask for a continuation. One caveat is that the film is not following the exact sequence of historical events, and I would advise reading a wiki article about the conclave of 1458. But only AFTER watching the film.

Quite the mixed bag with this. I came across it whilst hunting out the brilliant but terribly flawed recent movie 'Conclave'.

The production is somewhat cheap. The CGI and the sets are poor, as are the lighting and direction.

As good as the script and most of the acting is, the big problem with the film is that it lacks gravitas. The ending, for example, is quite anti climatic. Where was the drama? The build up was there, kind of, but the payoff was sadly lacking.

And all this was shame because, other than that, it had me hooked. Why choose this conclave? I am sure some other must have had some murder, mayhem and intrigue.

The movie opens with a gratuitous (some might say obligatory) sex scene that seems out of step with the rest of the film. Once it gets going though the film is a good watch. This is not a movie for action enthusiasts, as the real action is in the politicking of high stakes, winner-take-all diplomatic drama. Acting was believable from almost all quarters with Brian Blessed as Piccolomini being my favorite. I was waiting for some major plot twist, but before I knew it the credits were rolling.

In the end, the movie was a straightforward account that I enjoyed for the history more than the storytelling.

I saw this last night by chance on the TV. It was excellent! It was wonderful to see a totally absorbing movie, with breathtaking suspense based not on endless explosions and car chases, but brava performances by talented actors with a great and insightful script.

The historical setting is very well done showing both the grimy violent of the time, and the contradictions of politics and faith in the inner workings of the Vatican.

But the main joy is the intelligent acting and clear characterizations of the contending cardinals.

Just a note: for those who don't know their history, the main character, Rodrigo Borgia went on to became Pope Alexander VI, the father of Cesare and Lucrezia Borgia by the woman portrayed as his mistress in the film. He was the most controversial of the secular popes of the Renaissance.

Wonderful film, see it if you can.