A thriller about electing a pope draws crowds at the Rome Film Festival near the Vatican

ROME — With Pope Francis a few weeks away from his 88th birthday, the plotting for his successor is well underway at the Vatican.

How timely, then, that just across town in Rome, “ Conclave ” a thriller filled with back-stabbing, manipulative cardinals, quick to toss morality out of the window as they promote their candidate, is a top draw at the Rome Film Festival.

This might be a little too close to home — literally and figuratively — for Pope Francis.

Austrian-Swiss Director Edward Berger, who directed “All Quiet on the Western Front” (2022), adapted the film from the 2016 novel “Conclave” by Robert Harris. Berger puts an extraordinary Ralph Fiennes in the role of Cardinal Thomas Lawrence, dean of the College of Cardinals responsible for organizing the conclave.

The conclave is the centuries-old tradition in which, on the death of a pope, cardinals gather in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican to participate in rounds of voting until they elect a new pontiff. Conclave comes from the Latin “cum clave,” meaning “with a key,” to indicate the Cardinals are locked in until they have chosen the new leader for the world's 1.3 billion Catholics.

The whole process is conducted under the spectacular frescoed ceiling painted by Michelangelo, and his masterpiece “The Last Judgment” depicting the fate of men heading to heaven or hell covers the wall behind the altar. During the entire process, the prelates are cut off from communicating with the outside world and must live in seclusion inside the Vatican.

Conclaves have a reputation as a no-holds-barred competition as cardinals make backroom deals to elect their favorites in secret ballots.

At the end of each round of voting, the ballots are thrown in a specially constructed stove in the Sistine Chapel, with a chemical added that will color the smoke.

The tens of thousands of people gathered in St. Peter’s Square awaiting the result will know whether or not a new pope has been selected by the smoke that appears from the chimney. Black means the cardinals have not yet selected a pope, white means a new pope has been chosen.

In “ Conclave ” Stanley Tucci plays Aldo Bellini, a progressive American cardinal fighting it out against the powerful conservative Cardinal Goffredo Tedesco played by Sergio Castellitto and Canadian Cardinal Joseph Tremblay played by John Lithgow. Nigerian Cardinal Joshua Adeyemi, played by Lucian Msamati, could be the first Black pope, but his homophobic views clash with the progressives.

While women remain excluded from the conclave and the highest circles of power at the Vatican, they provide assistance carrying out humble roles serving the cardinals during the conclave period. Isabella Rossellini plays a nun who surprises in her role of quiet observer who does not miss a trick.

While a thriller, the film often comes close to the real workings and current debates at the Vatican. As the stars of the film strolled down the red carpet, some wondered how the film would be viewed over at the Vatican.

“It's intriguing. Are they sitting there at the Vatican watching the news coverage of ‘Conclave’?” actor Fiennes said. “I am sure there are a few people in the Vatican who would be curious to see what the film is saying.”

Despite his age and serious health issues, including a bad knee which has forced him to use a wheelchair, Pope Francis does not appear to be slowing down. In August he took his longest and most challenging trip ever, traveling by air to four countries in the Asia-Pacific. This month he has presided over the synod, a three-week meeting of more than 360 bishops and lay people to discuss the future of the church.

But Francis is not immortal. Discussions on who could be his successor have already begun, but it remains to be seen if the next real conclave will be as thrilling as the film.