Real-life cardinals have reportedly turned to the Oscar-winning film Conclave for guidance before casting their votes for Pope Francis’ successor.
Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church, died on 21 April, aged 88.
Voting for the late pontiff's successor is currently under way, with the first round of voting taking place yesterday and ending in black smoke – meaning the cardinals involved were unable to come to a consensus.
Since his death, viewership numbers for Edward Berger’s award-winning film have skyrocketed. Streaming spiked 283 per cent as word of Pope Francis’ passing spread throughout the world, according to Luminate, which tracks viewership of streaming content. The film generated about 1.8 million minutes viewed the day before Pope Francis’ death, and by the end of 21 April, that number had reached 6.9 million minutes viewed.
Now, according to a recent report from Politico, a number of real-life cardinals and clerics watched Conclave ahead of their voting session, with an unnamed priest telling the publication that the film is seen as “remarkably accurate”, making it a “helpful research tool”.
According to Politico, some cardinals even watched the film in the cinema.
“Some have watched (Conclave) in the cinema,” a cleric said, with Politico adding that the film “is seen as remarkably accurate even by cardinals” and has been useful “at a time when so many of the conclave participants have little experience of Vatican politics and protocol.”
Indeed, religious experts have praised the accuracy of the film, which dramatises the selection of a new pope. Euronews Culture did a deep dive into the aspects which the film gets right and where it stretches the truth somewhat.
Conclave is an adaptation of Robert Harris’ novel of the same name, in which Cardinal Thomas Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes) is tasked with leading the College of Cardinals after their pope dies. The film is set over three days at the Vatican, and sees Cardinal Lawrence uncover scandals involving potential candidates.
The film was nominated for eight Academy Awards, including nods for Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress and Best Picture. It ended up winning one Oscar, with Peter Straughan nabbing the award for Best Adapted Screenplay.
The real-life conclave is ongoing, with the second day of voting happening today.
