프로그램 노트

Program Note​

The Pope is dead. Cardinals from across the world gather at the Vatican to elect his successor, entering the closed-door proceedings of the Conclave. Overseeing the process is Lawrence, who must navigate the ambitions of power-hungry cardinals to ensure that the new Pope chosen is one the times truly need. But in a religion tainted by worldly desires, discerning the will of God is no easy task.

Conclave shifts its cinematic gaze not toward the interior of the Sistine Chapel where the Conclave unfolds, but toward the light and sound that slip through cracks and flow over walls. If The Zone of Interest rendered the Holocaust as a distant landscape beyond the walls, Conclave actively conceals the outside of the Vatican, pushing viewers to imagine what lies beyond. This is a strategy to explore the possibility of redemption in our time beneath the surface of a narrative where religion, power, secular ambition, and sacred value collide.

Lawrence proclaims that what he fears most is certainty. His sermon—arguing that certainty is the greatest obstacle to unity and inclusion—points directly to the world Conclave envisions. To break free from certainty is to face uncertainty, and from uncertainty comes fear. Our age shuns anxiety, which is why those who deviate from the societal norm are so often branded as dangerous or taboo.

Like the turtles in the film that roam freely outside the safety of the well, Conclave asks us to embrace uncertainty in order to welcome diversity. As I stepped out of the theater after the final scene, I found myself desperately hoping that the ending of this film might unfold in real life. I pray that this hope reaches the place where God might dwell. (LEE Dongyun)