People: Edward Berger: Churchmen are only human

Edward Berger (54), Austrian-Swiss film director, does not want to engage in church bashing with his new Vatican thriller “Conclave”. “In every film you want to show respect for the characters you portray,” said the Wolfsburg native to the German Press Agency in London. “And in this case we didn’t want to make a cynical film about the institution of the church.” You show the characters, primarily cardinals in an exciting papal election, very human.

“They have the same weaknesses, the same sins, the same problems” as all people, Berger said. The actors should be the focus and their characters should appear understandable. “They wear pompous costumes, but you can still see the people underneath.” Even though his film is about the papacy, there is a lot in this material for many other power struggles that are currently happening in the world.

The Vatican thriller “Conclave” (released in theaters November 21st) is based on a novel by Robert Harris (“Fatherland”). After the death of a fairly progressive pope, intrigues and surprises influence the election of the new head of the church. The main role as the organizer of the papal election is played by Ralph Fiennes (“Grand Budapest Hotel”, “The English Patient”), who you could watch thinking for hours.

Edward Berger won four Oscars in 2023 with the war drama “Nothing New in the West”. In doing so, he created the most successful German film to date at the world’s most important film award.