Brenda Hubbard Ibarra

Full disclosure- I became a Catholic in 2011 and have a deep love of my faith while also not having the burden of being a cradle Catholic. This is relevant because I don't have a lot of the baggage that cradle Catholics sometimes get bogged down with. The movie, Conclave, was outstanding and I think one of the best I have seen in years. While it is about the church, the church becomes a metaphor for what is going on in the world today. I kept drawing parallels between the story line and characters with the current partisan politics and upcoming election. Liberal versus Conservative and both parties missing the deeper points necessary to end the stalemate we are experiencing and get on to the future with what is NOW. The cinematography is outstanding- with images of the ancient church, beautiful, archaic and at times almost seedy, it is the perfect backdrop to consider the themes of corruption, power hungry men vying for office and willing to commit all sort of sins to grab it. In scene after beautiful scene we experience both the lush richness of the church and at the same time its extremely repressive nature. Themes about what sin really is (missing the mark) and how to be accountable and atone for our transgressions, along with what is the purpose of the Church in the twenty first century provide ample opportunity to probe our goals and dreams about what kind of world we want to live in. What the movie has to say about how those who want the power don't really deserve it and should not have it is profound. The performances were amazing. The music, costumes, attention to detail et al.... Kudos. Go and see it. You won't be sorry and if you are sorry, you probably should see it a second time because you missed the boat the first time around.