In the Vatican and the Reality Drama Behind the Seat

In last year's Oscar-winning film Condave, the process of electing his successor begins as the Cardinal played by John Lithgow and Ralph Fiennes faces the dead pope's body.

The actual meeting to elect Pope Francis will begin on Wednesday, but since his death on April 21 A large number of our audiences have been streaming - About 15,000 the day before his death and 3 million thereafter.

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In the film "Condave", the votes of the new Pope of the Cardinal College are chosen as the new specialty. Focus function

So we decided to revisit the time we spent with Fiennes in Rome and then in New York City when it was released last fall.

In Villa Medici, one of the filming locations for Fiennes, Fiennes said: "For those who know, it's not the Vatican. But I think, for a movie, you can believe it's an aspect of the Vatican, and we actually shot it here."

Fiennes plays Cardinal Thomas Lawrence, who betrays the ambitions of another Cardinal played by Stanley Tucci. Both men were both troubled by claustrophobic cookware in the Pope’s politics. The Cardinal is locked in grandeur and confidentiality.

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Actor Ralph Fiennes. CBS News

Most of the film was filmed at the famous Cinecitta Studios in Rome. "Clothes are very important, if you wear a robe like this and somehow hang it on you, suddenly it can certainly help you. Your actions are different and you will immediately be in that Sistine Church that you created in Cinecitta, and I mean, I mean, that's a surprising shooting scene. It's a real shot. It's a real place.

The Cardinal College is quarantined and votes for the Pope's successor. "This is a background of wealth, these worldly wealth and these saints..." Phines said.

“It is said to be holy,” I said.

"Yes, I'm going to overturn the comma sign! They're in a structure that massages political instincts against what they call the political instincts in the church."

Robert Harris wrote the 2016 novel that inspired the film. "Well, I'm a political journalist, and politics fascinates me," he said. "For me, the conclusion is the final election. It's the oldest, the most extraordinary one."

Sales of Harris novels have increased tenfold since the death of Pope Francis.

"It's not that I'm a prophet in some way," Harris said. "It's just that this conference is always roughly trapped in this pattern. There are traditionalists and reformers. There are geographic groups. In this combination, there are eclectic candidates."

In books and movies, the traditionalist is Tedesco. Reformer Bellini; Tremblay is a medium, but a mastermind. There is African competitor Adeyemi. They were eliminated, and the compromise candidates did appear.

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Author Robert Harris. CBS News

“Like any group, it all comes with its own motivation,” Harris said.

Although Harris is not a Catholic, he is often considered accurate about what happened during the meeting.

I asked, “It seems the idea of ​​this book is that these flawed men (also saints) did make the right choice?”

"Yes, I think it's a good process," Harris replied. “I think the Roman Catholic Church has built a great wisdom in it for centuries.”

"This movie gives you a question: Who should lead? Who should lead a structure like the Catholic Church? Who deserves who?"

“But it also raises the question, will the political process that determines the leader produce the right leaders?” I asked. “This movie seems to be saying yes.”

“Yes, this movie does do that in this case able,” Fiens said.

Fiennes is a skeptical man, just like the cardinal he plays. He said: "I grew up with Catholics and then I rebelled when I was 13. My mother was a loyal Catholic. On my mother's side, there were some theologians. So my family has been with my family since I was a kid."

I asked, “Did you answer your own question?”

"No," Fiens replied. “I asked more questions.”

As Cardinal Thomas Lawrence's sermon dramatizes in the film: "If there is only certainty and no doubt, there will be no mysterious things, and therefore no faith is required."

"candave" edited by Ralph Fiennes go through CBS Sunday morning On YouTube

Harris said: "The way he announced the word Belief Finally, it is extraordinary. ”

Harris is a big fan of the film. Now, he is reading his book to survive. "I've seen the early stages of the novel unfold before me," he said. "It's a weird feeling, frankly, to see this machine working."

Whoever ends the Pope, former Newesman-turned-national Harris knows a good story, and he sees a good story: "The whole image. The smoke coming out of the chimney. I mean, it's an extraordinary, excellent concept, the language and culture of the world.

"By the way, I'm happy, I think it's starting on Wednesday." "There will be a really strong feeling between the Cardinals and they're keen to leave Rome on Friday afternoon. It's a very effective, savvy deadline!"


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A story produced by Reid Orvedahl. Editor: Joseph Frandino.


See:

Martha Teichner