Back and Forth

Dear Readers, I hope you have missed me as much as I have missed you. Or maybe, just a little bit. I seem to have come through my knee surgery with flying colors. Well, walking colors at least. I’m so thankful to family and friends who have stopped by to lend a hand and kept in touch, cheering me on. That was the best part, I hadn’t seen so much of my daughters in ages!

I wish I could say that I made a dent on my reading list or that I wrote regularly, but no, I was thoroughly distracted and sleepy. All I could accomplish in style was to binge (Younger on Netflix, perfect binging length, seven seasons with 12 episodes each!); catch up with the Golden Globes awards (no surprises for best pictures: The Brutalist and Emilia Pérez, and a great discovery of Baby Reindeer for a limited series on television); followed by the Goyas, the Spanish version of the Oscars, (where Pedro Almodóvar, despite ten nominations and three awards for The Room Next Door, didn’t win for best director). Now, of course, I’m behind with the nominations for the Oscars’ show coming up on March 2^nd.

I saw The Brutalist and managed not to fall asleep during its three and a half hours, which is an endorsement in itself. I felt as if I were watching an exhibit at a European art museum, maybe Madrid’s Reina Sofía, with a provocative soundtrack by Daniel Blumberg. I endured The Substance and Babygirl, hoping to see more of Antonio Banderas to no avail; he has been superseded by a gringo kid. I drooled through Anora and Emilia Pérez with all their stereotypes and despite the woke controversy.

Perhaps the most puzzling film this season is Conclave directed by Edward Berger. Granted that there is a string of movies dealing with the pope elections, but I kept thinking, in my drowsy state of mind, that I had seen this film before. It took me a couple of hours through the neverland of streaming opportunities to find Habemus Papam (Latin for We have a Pope). Directed by Nanni Moretti it was shown in Philadelphia’s Film Festival in 2012. On the surface Conclave tells the same story as Habemus Papam, although the dramatic British version could not be more different than the lighthearted Italian one.

Conclave takes place entirely in Vatican City, creating a claustrophobic atmosphere of religious intrigue that mirrors many a contemporary political situation. With the illustrious cast of Ralph Fiennes as the solemn Cardinal Lawrence, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, and Sergio Castellittto, each cardinal with their own unholy agenda, and Isabella Rossellini as Sister Agnes, who seems to be the only person in the conclave who knows how to use a computer. The surprising, unbelievably woke ending—I’m trying not to give it away—is disappointing. A future pope who believed in incorporating women into the clergy would have been more satisfying for me, even if it would be equally unbelievable.

Habemus Papam, on the other hand, is full of light. Although the conclave also takes place in Vatican City, many scenes are filmed in the open air in Rome and its classic sites. We see the crowds waiting at Saint Peter’s Square for the elected pope to appear in the balcony as well as women and men enjoying restaurants, the theater and many other aspects of everyday Italian life. No wonder that the chosen pope, Cardinal Melville played by Michel Piccoli, doesn’t want to be elected and first has a panic attack, followed by an existential crisis that requires psychological intervention.

Some of the most fascinating scenes of this film take place in an interior cloister—again full of light—where the cardinals play volleyball exuberantly while the nuns act as cheerleaders. If this wasn’t humorous enough, the director Nanni Moretti acts as the psychologist and the volleyball referee, since everyone is cloistered until the chosen pope can be revealed.  At the end, the reluctant pontiff comes out in the balcony, admitting that he cannot fulfill his role.

I wouldn’t want to suggest that the Italian version is just innocuous compared to the more serious Conclave, because it shows a very real man suffering a profound crisis of confidence. Just in case, remember that I was under the influence of the pain killers when I saw it.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 12th, 2025 at 9:11 pm by conchaalborg and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.