Conclave

Yes.

That's All Quite on the Western Front and Conclave.

And I've been looking forward to seeing Ballad of a Small Player since we covered it on our Venice and TIFF recap episode.

We've mentioned it a lot.

Director Edward Berger is a German filmmaker who spent years working in European film and television before breaking through internationally with the 2022 Netflix adaptation of All Quiet on the Western Front.

The original film adaptation of the 1929 novel of the same name, directed by Lewis Milestone, won Best Picture at the third Academy Awards ceremony and Berger's version was nominated for Best Picture and ultimately won four Academy Awards, including Best International Feature.

Berger followed it with Conclave, another award season hit that earned eight Oscar nominations and won Best Adapted Screenplay.

So Ballad of a Small Player is an interesting change of direction.

Listen, it is a fascinating read.

You've had some great adaptations in film and TV over the years, haven't you? Conclave was all the talk.

It was very prescient because it seemed to be about Francis and what would happen afterwards.

And it was the real thing was nearly as enjoyable as the book and the film.

But you've had really quality stuff.

Oh, yeah.

I mean, Conclave was marvellous.

And it was just unbelievable that the Pope actually, the new Pope actually watched it on the eve of the Conclave.

Could be a woman, could be somebody, you know, uh, uh...

Which I guess Conclave, that, that movie, it's, it's a little that way.

Sh- But, but, but, but my notion was this idea of a woman being a pope, and I don't know, for whatever reason, I d- I always, um, I don't like men that much.

[laughs]

Is that the Pete Possilthwaite

character from Romeo Plus Juliette? No, Monsignor Raymond O'Malley is the assistant on Conclave.

Oh, right.

The main character's assistant.

That's going to come bite me in the ass.

All right.

Do you want Monsignor Raymond O'Malley from Conclave or Tevin Grant from Are You the One? Look, I'm

going to pick the character from Conclave.

Every movie...

There needs to be one movie in the Oscar race every year where you do have incredible and beloved actress does office work in the vein of Isabella Rossellini making copies in Conclave.

You have Patricia Clarkson doing copy edits in this movie.

You have Patricia Clarkson clicking publish.

Yes.

I made a scene from Conclave.

You know, the film.

That's the one where they're choosing who'll be the next pope.

Trish Love.

The vegetable and fruit tableau is a new welcome addition to the categories, and we were most entertained by a bunch of radishes posing as clergy.

Please raise your hand if you're responsible for this wonderful scene from the film Conclave.

Oh, that's you.

So I remember I did, I wrote a sketch called, I think it was called Consclave.

And it was a parody of the movie Conclave, but with conservative politicians.

Yeah.

Where they were like doing Conclave stuff.

SNL UK hadn't come out yet.

So I didn't know what the tone was going to be.

And it's one of those films that I had to chase down because there just weren't any new releases.

So, yeah, it opened a week ago, an erotically charged indie distributed by Black Bear Pictures, the company behind Conclave, Assault Path and Long Legs.

Indie stuff, indeed.

This is from the indie wunderkind Greg Araki, whose films include Totally F'd Up, The Doom Generation and Mysterious Skin.