Edward Berger’s All Quiet on the Western Front stunned TIFF audiences and now, he’s back, with a cinematic adaptation of Robert Harris’ novel, Conclave. Starring Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow and Isabella Rossellini, Berger delivers a visually arresting dramatic piece that takes viewers inside the Vatican as Cardinals gather from across the globe to elect a new pope.

Cardinal Lawrence (Fiennes) has been asked to oversee the procedure, and what begins, initially, as a squaring off of different political views of which way the church should go becomes so much more, as secrets and conspiracies are revealed with the fate of the Roman Catholic Church hanging in the balance.

With a brilliant score by Volker Bertelmann whose bass cello strings and soaring violins deliver a crisp thriller feel to the story, Conclave is a tightly-paced two hours that is anchored by a profound performance by Fiennes.

Berger fills his cinematic canvas with stunning shots juxtaposing the history of the church with the encroachment of the modern world, its technology, its outlook, its beliefs, and even its faith. Filled with picture-perfect composition Berger guides the narrative and the characters through a tale that changes from moment to moment, and gets better and better with each passing frame.

As much a political drama as it is a religious one, Conclave packs a serious punch, a number of them in fact, as the narrative progresses to a fantastic end, and a new pope. Conclave is a fantastically paced film, brilliantly edited, scored (LOVE IT!), and acted. Everything in this film just works, every level of the production elevated this one into something truly exceptional and makes Conclave a must-see.

The Press and Industry screening for this film was packed. We knew it was going to go to theaters (and streaming eventually) and get a wide release, but we also knew it was going to be really good, and sometimes, you just don’t want to wait. I think a roomful of industry and press had that feeling today, and walked out of this one completely wowed.

Conclave screens Monday and Tuesday at TIFF.