SEARCH RESULTS

A new crossword puzzle is available every Wednesday morning on themes around movies and television series. Crossword Wednesday - 1/14

Tuesday Trivia contains a new set of fun movie and television trivia questions every week. Tuesday Trivia

Cup of Tea Critiques delivers Cinema & Film Reviews online, helping film lovers find hidden gems and explore movies worth watching. Click here to see what we offer! Cup of Tea Critiques Movie and Television Reviews At Cup of Tea Critiques, we believe film should spark conversation, reveal truth, and yes, even challenge your comfort zone. Whether you're a casual moviegoer or a film buff, our reviews are brewed just for you. We do more than rate; we dig into what makes a movie work (or not) from story and direction to character, tone, visual style, and emotional impact. What to Expect Fresh Takes on new releases, indie gems, and festival favorites Deep Analysis of themes, pacing, cinematography, and sound design Spoiler-Free Summaries so you can decide if something’s your cup of tea—no surprises unless you want them Context & Comparisons, because knowing what a film is aiming for often makes all the difference Why Read Our Reviews? Every review is crafted to help you think critically—not just about whether a movie is “good” or “bad,” but why. You'll get insights that go beyond trailers and publicity: what works, where things falter, and how it all comes together (or doesn’t). ® Subscribe for updates! Email us at hello@cupofteacritiques.com Movie: One Battle After Another Image: Used with permission, Alessandro Montalto Movie: Twinless poses questions about the durability of friendships Permut Presentations Interview: River of Grass Writer/Director Derek Magyar sits down with Cup of Tea Critiques Image used with permission, Derek Magyar Movie: One Battle After Another Image: Used with permission, Alessandro Montalto 1/10

TV Shows Dope Thief Dope Thief shares important lessons about family Tea Brew: Coca, Rosemary 📷 : Apple Studios Creator: Peter Craig Reading Time: 6 minutes Read More The Studio The Studio provides laughs with its bungling protagonist Tea Brew: Ginkgo Biloba, White 📷 : Used with permission, Christian Niemann Creator: https://www.instagram.com/justbychris/ https://x.com/justbychris Evan Goldberg Reading Time: 5 minutes Read More Your Friends & Neighbors Your Friends & Neighbors gives a birds-eye view into a type of social mobility Tea Brew: Ginger, Honeybush 📷 : Apple Studios Creator: Jonathan Trooper Reading Time: 6 minutes Read More Black Doves Black Doves, a quirky spy thriller that avoids tokenism Tea Brew: Matcha, Ginseng 📷 : Used with permission, Netflix Creator: Joe Barton Reading Time: 7 minutes Read More Echo Echo shines a light on the gifts of generations past Tea Brew: Coca, Masala Chai 📷 : Used with permission, Rye Coleman Creator: https://www.instagram.com/coleman811/ Marion Dayre Reading Time: 9 minutes Read More Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist makes us reprioritize the gift of respect Tea Brew: Barley, Matcha 📷 : Used with permission, Geoffrey Riccio Creator: http://www.riccioproductions.com/ Shaye Ogbonna Reading Time: 9 minutes Read More Load more

Crumpets Food for Thought! Imagine taking an afternoon break on a calm sunny day in the low 70s. You sit in a nearby park filled with maples and oaks, birds chirping, and a pond with families of ducks floating about. In your 15 to 20 minutes of bliss, you sip your Sage tea while engrossed in an article about the changing cultural landscape of movie‑going, why short films are made , or perhaps just curious about the trends in the horror genre. Crumpets articles are food for thought that are also perfectly suited for a cup of Jasmine, Matcha, Peach—and sometimes even Dandelion! Enjoy! What's that Sound? The Profound Seamlessness of Film Scores Reba Chaisson Reading Time: 16 minutes Read More Image: 📸: Cup of Tea Critiques A Clash of Knuckles: Movies and the System of Rating Them Highlighting the Tension Between Filmmakers and the MPA Reba Chaisson Reading Time: 19 minutes Read More Image: 📸: Cup of Tea Critiques Are horror movies and thrillers one and the same or completely different? Distinguishing Two of Cinema's Most Popular Genres Chris Chaisson Reading Time: 10 minutes Read More Image: 📸: Used with Permission, Sarah Sumeray https://www.sarahsumerayonline.com/art How Do You Like Your Cinema? What You Said about What You Watch Reba Chaisson Reading Time: 15 minutes Read More Image: 📸: Licensed from Shutterstock Are Mumblecore Movies Relatable or Just Boring? Examining a Subgenre of Indie Filmmaking Chris Chaisson Reading Time: 9 minutes Read More Image: 📸: Used with Permission, Scott Saslow (scottsaslow.com Instagram: @scottsaslow Twitter: @saslow_scott) How to Increase Latin-American Representation in Film What a Recent Horror Blockbuster Can Tell Us About the Importance of Representation Chris Chaisson Reading Time: 7 minutes Read More Image: 📸: Used with permission, Vini Kick Winnie the Pooh and the Public Domain How a New Horror Movie is Shedding Light on an Old Concept Chris Chaisson Reading Time: 7 minutes Read More Image: 📸: Photo from Pixabay Do Slasher Movies Still Cut It? (No Pun Intended) Examining the Shift in the Thematic Trends of the Horror Genre Chris Chaisson Reading Time: 8 minutes Read More Image: 📸: Used with Permission, Snollygoster Productions (hello@snollygoster.productions ) Soft and Quiet, Along With 6 Other Movies Shot in One Take A Brief List of Movies Shot in One Continuous Take -- er, Supposedly Chris Chaisson Reading Time: 9 minutes Read More Image: 📸: Used with Permission, Snollygoster Productions (hello@snollygoster.productions ) Why and How Short Films are Made An Examination of Short Films and How They Serve Aspiring Filmmakers Chris Chaisson Reading Time: 9 minutes Read More Image: 📸: Photo from Pixabay Getting Up Close and Personal with Crawdads and Vengeance A look at how film informs our perspective Reba Chaisson Reading Time: 11 minutes Read More Image: 📸: Licensed from Shutterstock Game of Thrones Audience Appeal The Enduringness of Story Reba Chaisson Reading Time: 18 minutes Read More Image: 📸: Licensed from Shutterstock The Source and Impact of Smith's Actions Two Perspectives on "The Slap" Chris and Reba Chaisson Reading Time: 10 minutes Read More Image: 📸: Licensed from Shutterstock How Do We Measure Box Office Success Considering the Value of a Movie Chris Chaisson Reading Time: 5 minutes Read More Image: 📸: Photo from Pixabay

Job Listings Job Type Select Job Type Workspace Select Workspace Search Jobs Number of jobs found: 6 Content Manager San Francisco, CA, USA View Job Account Director San Francisco, CA, USA View Job HR Representative San Francisco, CA, USA View Job Marketing Associate San Francisco, CA, USA View Job Product Manager San Francisco, CA, USA View Job VP Product San Francisco, CA, USA View Job

Short Films Liquor Bank Liquor Bank displays the complexities of an intervention Tea Brew: Dandelion, Honeybush Director/Writer: Marcellus Cox Reading Time: 4 minutes 📷 : Used with permission, Marcellus Cox Read More Almost Certainly False Almost Certainly False drives home the risk of reductionist language Tea Brew: Honeybush, Ginger Director/Writer: Cansu Baydar Reading Time: 5 minutes 📷 : Used with permission, Cansu Baydar Read More The First Time I Never Met You The First Time I Never Met You adds a wrinkle to the time-traveling genre Tea Brew: Coca, Saffron Director/Writer: Eric Kole Reading Time: 3 minutes 📷 : Used with permission, Eric Kole Read More A Good Day Will Come A Good Day Will Come sheds light on a real-life tragedy Tea Brew: Dandelion, Honeybush Director/Writer: Amir Zargara Reading Time: 4 minutes 📷 : Used with permission, Amir Zargara Read More Life After Life After presents a short story with a big screen feel Tea Brew: Ginseng, Ginger Director/Writer: Jesse Edwards Reading Time: 4 minutes 📷 : Used with permission, Evolve Studios Read More River of Grass River of Grass makes us consider the predicaments of young veterans Tea Brew: Dandelion, Honeybush Director/Writer: Derek Magyar / Jon Bloch, Chad Christopher, and Derek Magyar Reading Time: 3 minutes 📷 : Used with permission, Skinny Lee Productions Read More Load more

Movies 📷 : Used with permission, Alessandro Montalto One Battle After Another One Battle After Another shows what commitment looks like Tea Brew: Honeybush, Rosemary https://x.com/noctrnlayouts https://www.instagram.com/noctrnl.layouts/ Director/Writer: Paul Thomas Anderson / Paul Thomas Anderson and Thomas Pynchon https://www.behance.net/nocturnalayouts Reading Time: 7 minutes Read More Twinless Twinless poses questions about the durability of friendships Tea Brew: Sage, Ginger Director/Writer: James Sweeney Reading Time: 6 minutes Read More 📷 : IFC Films and Sapan Studio The Baltimorons The Baltimorons shows characters breaking out of their perceived limitations Tea Brew: Jasmine, Mint Director/Writer: Jay Duplass / Jay Duplass and Michael Strassner Reading Time: 6 minutes Read More 📷 : Relativity Media The Knife The Knife immerses viewers in a story about clear-eyed choices Tea Brew: Ginseng, Ginger Director/Writer: Nnamdi Asomugha / Mark Duplass and Nnamdi Asomugha Reading Time: 5 minutes Read More 📷 : Nadhir Nawshad F1: The Movie F1: The Movie delivers confusing characters but thrilling action Tea Brew: Masala Chai, White https://www.instagram.com/nadnaws/ https://x.com/_nadnaws Director/Writer: Joseph Kosinski Reading Time: 6 minutes Read More 📷 : Magnolia Pictures Press Kit 40 Acres 40 Acres makes us seriously consider the near future Tea Brew: Rosemary, Coca https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/shnuoc9k3wiz44l824zkh/AA7WU3RtNVFNKyDObG3D0I0?rlkey=3atyx7kz9y3yvh65ubhttbyk5&e=1&st=ylsn0byh&dl=0 Director/Writer: R.T. Thorne / R.T. Thorne, Glenn Taylor, Lora Campbell Reading Time: 6 minutes Read More Load more

Explore Critical Evaluation of Film & Short Film Reviews with Cup of Tea Critiques, your online source for sharp insights on movies and television. Click here to see what we have to offer! Tea Brew Legend Our critiques are tagged with a tea brew that evokes a feel for the movie or television show. So, instead of likes, ratings, emojis, or thumbs up or down, they are assigned a tea that, based on its benefits, gives you a sense of the production's feel and substance. Below we show several plants that teas are made from. So, scroll to figure out which tea best fits the movie or TV show that matches your mood. We hope you enjoy our critical evaluation of film & short film reviews Photo by Emma Van Sant on Unsplash Tea: Barley Category: Herbal Barley tea is good for oral health, which translates nicely to shows that have a lot of dialog like: The Accident , Between the Temples , and Flamin' Hot — to name just a few! Genre: Movies and TV shows with a lot of dialog Tea: Chamomile Category: Herbal Chamomile tea induces sleepiness. This is not to say that shows marked with this tea are boring; they're actually rather calming — not action packed. Try the Oscar-nominated film, American Fiction , The Long Game, or The Old Oak for example. Genre: Family dramas Photo by Rebecca Asryan on Unsplash Tea: Coca Category: Herbal Coca tea can produce psychosomatic effects, making it perfect for marking movies and shows about drugs or disorienting presentations such as Back to Black , Lonesome Soldier , and The Substance . Genre: Movies and TV shows about drugs or with disorienting presentations Licensed from Adobe Stock Photo by David Dawson on Unsplash Tea: Dandelion Category: Herbal Dandelion tea is a bitter herbal tea that fits with movies and shows with difficult or heavy subjects like Fair Play , the Oscar–nominated film, Killers of the Flower Moon , Monkey Man , and Presumed Innocent . Genre: Movies and TV shows with heavy subjects Tea: Ginger Category: Herbal Ginger tea has many benefits, one of which is protecting the brain against disease. This translates perfectly to thought-provoking movies and shows, for example: the Oscar-nominated film, Drive My Car , Life After , Maestro, and War is Over! . Genre: Thought-provoking movies and TV shows Photo by Joris Neyt from Pexels Photo by Uwe Nake on Unsplash Tea: Ginkgo Biloba Category: Herbal Ginkgo Biloba tea slows signs of aging, so what better movies and shows than fun, youthful , and lighthearted ones like Nobody is Crazy , Rye Lane , and The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar . Genre: Youthful, lighthearted, and fun movies and TV shows Tea: Ginseng Category: Herbal Like Chrysanthemum, its floral counterpart, Ginseng tea acts as a stimulant. We reserve this designation for suspenseful and intense thrillers that contain some violence. From, Leave the World Behind, Longlegs , and Rebel Ridge are among these. Genre: Suspenseful and intense thrillers Photo by Rodion Kutsaev from Pexels Licensed from Adobe Stock Tea: Honeybush Category: Herbal Honeybush tea is calming. But unlike chamomile, this one is best for non-family dramas with adult themes like A Good Day Will Come , Challengers , and Rez Ball . Genre: Nonfamily dramas with strong adult and/or socioeconomic themes Tea: Jasmine Category: Green Jasmine tea is sweet and relaxing, making it a great sip for movies and shows with heart, positive vibes, and warm messages like the ones in these: Babes , Bob Marley: One Love , Perfect Days, and the Oscar–nominated film, The Holdovers . Genre: Movies and TV shows with heart, positive vibes, and warm messages Photo by Tanya Nedelcheva on Unsplash Photo licensed from Shutterstock Tea: Masala Chai Category: Black Masala Chai is a black tea that promotes strong bones, oral and digestive health, and reduces the risk of stroke, making this drink perfect for movies and shows about toughness or athletic competition like Lawmen: Bass Reeves, Napoleon, and The Brothers Sun . Genre: Movies and TV shows about toughness and athletic competition Tea: Matcha Category: Green Matcha improves mental focus, making it perfect for navigating mysteries and figuring out whodunnits such as Decision to Leave , Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist, The Independent , and The Night Agent . Genre: Mysteries or whodunnits Photo by Michael Burrows from Pexels Photo by Simon Lee on Unsplash Tea: Mint Category: Herbal Mint tea has a cooling effect and is known to reduce fever, which makes it a good fit for movies and shows filmed in cold weather or blizzards, such as Blow the Man Down, Society of the Snow, and Wind River . Genre: Movies and TV shows in cold weather and blizzard conditions Tea: Oolong Category: Oolong Oolong tea is fat burning, supports weight loss, and helps mental performance, making it compatible with movies and shows that make you laugh or involve physical activity like dance and exercise. Chevalier, Florida Man, and Mr. and Mrs. Smith are just three examples! Genre: Movies and TV shows that make you laugh or involve physical activities like dance and exercise Licensed from Adobe Stock Photo by Jared Subia on Unsplash Tea: Peach Category: Floral Peach tea has a sweet and pleasing aroma, making it perfect for movies and shows with a springtime feel and imagery of the season, such as Bloodline, Florida Man, and I Love That for You . Genre: Movies and TV shows with a springtime feel or with images of the season Tea: Rosemary Category: Herbal Rosemary tea has a sharp pine fragrance and is proven to boost memory, making it perfect for signaling stimulating shows with intense action like Civil War , Lawman: Bass Reeves , and Monkey Man . Genre: Movies and TV shows with intense action Photo licensed from Shutterstock Photo by Mohammed Amiri on Unsplash Tea: Saffron Category: Herbal Besides the beauty of its color, Saffron tea promotes eye health, which transfers well to movies and shows with great visual effects like Dream Scenario , Leave the World Behind , the Emmy– and Golden Globe– nominated series, The Bear, and The Substance . Genre: Movies and TV shows with great visual effects Tea: Sage Category: Herbal Similar to its floral counterpart (Lavender), Sage tea is an anxiety/stress reducer, which makes it great for watching films with low-key characters like those in Bob Marley: One Love, Living, and Perfect Days . Genre: Movies and TV shows with low-key characters Photo by Phillip Larking on Unsplash Tea: White Category: White White tea is fat burning, supports healthy weight loss and skin, and slows aging. All are qualities that make it a good fit for shows that make you laugh or involve urgency like chase scenes or other rigorous physical activity such as those in Full Time and I Got This . Genre: Movies and TV shows that make you laugh, or involve urgency, like chase scenes or other physical activity Licensed from Shutterstock Tea: Yarrow Category: Herbal Like Ginger, Yarrow tea promotes digestive health, reduces fever, cold, and cramps, and even relieves itchy skin, making it appropriate for movies and shows about illness or that are set in hospitals or other medical institutions such as those in A Girl Upstairs, From, the Oscar–nominated film, Killers of the Flower Moon, and Swarm . Genre: Movies and TV shows about illness or set in hospitals or similar medical institutions Licensed from Adobe Stock Sign-up for new reviews, exclusives, deep dives, and more First name Last name Enter your email here I agree to the terms & conditions Sign-up Thanks for joining us!

Lawmen: Bass Reeves distinguishes between fear and respect < Back Lawmen: Bass Reeves distinguishes between fear and respect 101 Studios, 2023 45 minutes Creator: Chad Feehan Reading Time: 6 minutes 📷 : Licensed from Shutterstock Lawmen: Bass Reeves Saddle Up (9QA0KKDY5QU5JQER) 00:00 / 07:36 Masala Chai Movies and TV shows about toughness and athletic competition Rosemary Movies and TV shows with intense action Reba Chaisson 2023-12-22 Lawmen: Bass Reeves , the 2023 Paramount+ limited series based on a true story, puts the notions of fear and respect front and center. The intense, action-filled story follows the life and career of a Black deputy U.S. marshal in the postbellum South. Recently freed from enslavement, Deputy Marshal Reeves has been hired by Judge Parker (Donald Sutherland) to travel his Southern district to catch people wanted for serious crimes such as robbery and murder. A self-assured and deeply religious man, Bass, played by David Oyelowo ( Selma , The Butler ), traverses Arkansas and what is now Oklahoma perched atop his horse. Combined with his badge, the two place him at a physical and social focal point that forces his captives and others to look up to him and acknowledge his position of authority. Indeed, much of the 8-part series shows Reeves on his horse with his badge visible, likely creator Chad Feehan’s goal of presenting a stark contrast to the previously low social level Reeves was relegated to when slavery was a legal and accepted practice just a few years prior. For historical context, after the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, the South underwent Reconstruction from 1867-1877. During this period, Blacks were granted citizenship and the right to vote with the 14th and 15th Amendments, respectively. Public schools and colleges were constructed for Black students, and Black men were elected to state legislatures in the South with some even serving in Congress. This was a tenuous period with many White people still reeling from the forced release of their centuries-long grip of Black people that they had become accustomed to seeing as objects and legally treating as property. Thus, the idea of a Black man freely traversing the South arresting people with the power of a marshal's badge is, to say the least, astounding, not only for some White people in this era, but even for some who are Black. For many White Southerners, a Black lawman challenges their views of where Black men are situated relative to White people in the socially constructed racial hierarchy. Conversely, Black people view Reeves as misguided, a traitor even, for arresting “his own,” particularly when the crimes were justifiable. One Black man, for example, whom Reeves arrests for killing a former enslaver, insists the man deserved it. The man explains that the enslaver vowed to kill his people before he set them free. So, when he received the news that enslaved persons had been emancipated, he locked them in their cabins and burned them all alive. For this, Reeves’s captive asserts he has “no regrets” for killing the man and insists he would “do it again.” While clearly moved by the story, Reeves’ view is that the question of his captive’s innocence or guilt is not one for him to decide but rather one for the court. He refers to Bible verses alluding to God as the Judge and the one that his detainees must ultimately answer to. Like a focused automaton, his job, in his view, is to capture and bring them in so they can have their day in court. Reeves is guided by a set of principles that dictates how he goes about his work. But he expects, perhaps naïvely, that other lawmen operate according to a similar moral code. We see this when his assistant, Billy Crow, played by Forrest Goodluck ( The Revenant , The Miseducation of Cameron Crowe ), is distracted during a mission and ends up shooting a fleeing suspect who regrettably dies. Reeves’s facial expression conveys his annoyance with his young assistant, who later asks him if he is going to fire him. Reeves removes a bullet from his gun, pulls his horse up next to Billy’s, and tosses the bullet to him. Perplexed, Billy asks, “A bullet?” Reeves simply responds, “Each one a man’s life.” This happens more than once during the series where Reeves becomes dismayed at the irresponsible decisions, even of an overzealous peer. Because Reeves is fluent in the Choctaw language and familiar with Indigenous territories in the South, Marshal Sherrill Lynn, played by Dennis Quaid, asks for his help in finding a Choctaw man wanted for arrest. When Marshal Lynn disrespects a Choctaw woman in her home and later sets fire to the suspect’s home, burning him alive, Reeves is disgusted with his behavior. He forcefully confronts Lynn and reiterates that the goal of their job is to bring in suspects and allow them their day in court. Married with four children, Reeves asserts that he would rather continue to till the unyielding land on his farm and risk his family going hungry than work with such a man. He then promptly mounts his horse and rides off. Lauren E. Banks plays Reeves’ wife, Jennie, who holds down the fort at home guided by principles similar to those of her husband. It is unusual for women to be represented as strong back in the day. But the series depicts this in Jennie Reeves who at one point tells an imposing pastor and dinner guest that he is preaching his questionable wares to the wrong house. White women as well are often depicted as feminine and fragile, but we see them differently in the series as when Bass Reeves informs a blind woman that her husband is dead. Showing no surprise, she responds, “I take it you found him in some woman’s bed” – brutal forthrightness that leaves Reeves speechless. We also see female depictions deviate from their typical representations when a sex worker reading a book during her break explains to Billy Crow facts about the world she has read about and seen firsthand. This scene challenges his assumptions that her identity is solely that of a sex worker and her entire adult life has been spent in a brothel. Chad Feehan’s production reminds me a lot of the strong themes and meticulously crafted characters in Taylor Sheridan’s works, who coincidentallly is an executive producer on the series. Sheridan's Yellowstone is a contemporary Western-style drama series with seemingly bigger than life characters like John Dutton and Rip Wheeler, respectively played by Kevin Costner and Cole Hauser. Like Deputy Marshal Reeves, John Dutton has a North Star, a set of principles that guide him. In Dutton’s case, it is to keep his 750,000 acres and destroy everything and anyone who attempts to infringe upon it. Bass’s principles, on the other hand, can best be described as moral or spiritual in nature. Collins Dictionary defines respect in several ways, but they all culminate into this: courteous consideration and regard for someone’s wishes, rights, or customs, and the deference or dutiful regard for law and moral principles. Understanding this, people who give respect are not necessarily looking for it in return, but this is nonetheless a by-product of treating others respectfully. In the 1982 movie, 48 Hours , Eddie Murphy’s 20-year-old character jokes that a Black man with a badge is a person White people fear most. But Reeves isn’t at all interested in being feared by anyone. He is, however, invested in respect. Indeed, there is a difference, a big difference between the two. Previous Next Sign-up for new reviews, exclusives, deep dives, and more First name Last name Enter your email here I agree to the terms & conditions Sign-up Thanks for joining us!

Learn about Cup of Tea Critiques, an online hub for Proof of Concept & Insightful Movie Reviews designed for film and TV enthusiasts. Click here if this sounds like your cup of tea! Welcome to Cup of Tea Critiques® Cup of Tea Critiques examines movies and television series through a critical lens. Our main focus is independent cinema—films rarely talked about, found in mainstream theaters, nor advertised on billboards. However, they are broadly available on streaming platforms and can be watched from the comfort of your own home. The shows consist of stories from across the globe—often important, funny, and entertaining stories—that captivate and inform, expose you to underrepresented perspectives, stimulate your thoughts, and facilitate discussion. Reviewing elements like story, depth of character, aesthetics, and themes, we develop a synopsis and denote it with a tea brew that evokes a feel for the work. So, instead of likes, ratings, emojis, or thumbs up or down, our reviews are tagged with a type of tea that, based on its benefits, gives you a sense of the show's feel and substance. In the mood for a lot of dialog? Maybe a movie tagged with a barley tea is just for you. Prefer something light? Perhaps a show tagged with ginkgo biloba is what you're looking for. Don't worry, we provide a legend that describes every tea we use. So, what movie or show are you in the mood for? Reading the review and noting the show's brew will help you decide if it's your "cup of tea." ® chris@cupofteacritiques.com Hi! I’m Chris reba@cupofteacritiques.com Hi! I’m Brandon brandon@cupofteacritiques.com Hi! I’m Reba Subscribe to receive email alerts for new movie and television critiques. Follow us on our Facebook, Instagram , and Letterboxd pages.

< Back Conclave highlights the elusiveness of infallibility Indian Paintbrush, 2024 120 minutes Director/Writer: Edward Berger / Peter Straughan and Robert Harris Reading Time: 9 minutes Conclave Over the Years (T5KTL7QBINSTAQET) 00:00 / 11:27 📷 : Used with permission, Theo Peng https://www.instagram.com/mrtheodorepeng/ https://x.com/mrtheodorepeng Honeybush: Nonfamily dramas with strong adult and/or socioeconomic themes Sage: Movies and TV shows with low-key characters Reba Chaisson 2025-01-31 I was raised Baptist and my church felt like my second home. In addition to choir rehearsal and Bible Study during the week, I was there every Sunday with my family from 9:00 to 1:30. I stopped going to church when I went to college and actually felt liberated from the more than half-day Sunday service. So, when we broached the topic of declining church attendance during a graduate seminar in the late ‘90s, I humorously speculated that long services could be the reason for the decline. Church attendance has been shrinking since the 1990s. Gallup studies this phenomenon regularly. Its most recent report shows that 30% of people in the U.S. attend religious services on a weekly basis, which is down from 42% 20 years ago. Adding to this phenomenon, Pew Research reported in 2009 that 17% of people claimed to be agnostic, atheist, or “nothing in particular.” Ten years later, 1 out of every 4 indicated as such. Individuals and families are often blamed for problematic social phenomena. But I’ve been considering what responsibilities the institutions themselves have for declining attendance and perhaps even diminishing faith? As I watched Conclave , these decades-old questions began to swirl in my mind once again. Conclave ’s inciting incident is the sudden death of the sitting pope. Ralph Fiennes headlines the film as Cardinal Lawrence, the pope’s dear and trusted friend. Soon after arriving at the Vatican, Lawrence learns of the Holy Father’s written order that he lead the Catholic church’s traditional conclave to select a new pope. Distraught but touched by his friend’s trust, Cardinal Lawrence carries on his duties by first summoning all the cardinals from across the globe to the Vatican for the proceedings. Consulting with Lawrence is Cardinal Bellini, a close friend and confidant of he and the late pope’s, played by Stanley Tucci. In case you’re unaware, a conclave is the process whereby Catholic cardinals appoint a new pope after the one in office has resigned or passed away. During this time, the cardinals are sequestered to the Vatican’s campus to avoid any outside influences on their decisions. The meeting itself is held nearby in the Sistine Chapel, where the cardinals' exchanges and votes are kept secret, and their notes and ballots are burned at the end of each session to ensure their inviolability. Black chimney smoke from the burnings signal to Catholic faithful that a decision on a new pope has not yet been reached, while white smoke indicates that a pope has been selected. The process can run from days to years. During their stay, each cardinal has a private room in the large dormitory on the Vatican’s campus. They eat meals together in an airy, spacious dining hall, while dressed in clean and starched robes and zucchettos. Isabella Rossellini plays the tough, stubborn, and protective Sister Agnes in Conclave , who leads the group of international nuns called in to support the cardinals’ domestic needs in the form of cooking and cleaning. Interestingly, their role is little different than that of most women in the secular world. That Sister Agnes is tight-lipped, stern-faced, and has few lines in the film signals the nuns’ narrow and traditional functions in the midst of a group of men with prestige and who each has authority over them. We know this for sure when she cracks a slight smile as one of the cardinals acknowledges the sisters during a prayer over the food, thanking God for the sisters who prepared it. On the one hand, the gathering of the cardinals brings to mind domestic and international college students converging on campuses for the start of fall semester. Like predominantly White college campuses, the Vatican has a predominance of White cardinals with a smattering of cardinals of color. Together, like students, the group is diverse in nationality. On the other hand, the setting feels like a high school with a strict dress code and beginning its first week of classes for the semester. Early on, there are smiles, hugs, and a bit of catch-up after the summer away from one another. And over time, they form cliques, secrets are revealed, and voice is given to what were once implicit biases. Quickly, we learn from this film that what we often view as perfect in religious institutions is far from it when we get to observe the goings-on in its inner sanctum. The movie reveals that conclave proceedings are more like politics than a process we might imagine as steeped in prayer, humility, and melancholy. While the cardinals are serious about the task at hand, for many, their own aspirations to be king — oh, sorry — pope, are top of mind. And those who insist they have no such ambitions, well, we learn differently not only when their names suddenly appear on the ballot, but especially as their names begin to drop in the number of votes they receive. When Lawrence suggests to Bellini early on that he is likely to succeed the pope, Bellini is modestly surprised and insists he doesn’t want it. But when his voting numbers begin to slip, he becomes indignant about the people who move ahead of him on the ballot. He even accuses Lawrence of wanting the papacy for himself despite his name not appearing on the ballot. So much for being close friends! Different from Bellini’s initial modesty, other cardinals are not shy in expressing their desire to be head of the Catholic Archdiocese. Cardinal Tremblay, who is played by John Lithgow, not only insists he should be the next pope, but he has a cadre of cardinals who agrees with him and votes in his favor. When Lawrence asks Tremblay if there is any truth to an allegation he learned from a priest who came to see him at the Vatican, Tremblay responds as if he’d been accused of blasphemy – “Oh God, of course not!” But as he does with others who throw their zucchettos in the ring, Lawrence instructs his assistant to conduct a background investigation on the cardinal. When he confronts him with his findings, Tremblay is forced to moderate his arrogance and swallow his indignation. Cardinal Wozniak, played by Jacek Koman, is openly racist and xenophobic, once even proclaiming in his native Italian, “We tolerate Islam in our land, but they revile us in theirs. What we need is a leader who believes that we are facing a true religious war. … We need a leader who fights these animals.” While this sounds more like a military zealot than a priest, Wozniak too has a cadre of cardinals who sides with him and casts votes in his favor. But when his bigotry is confronted by an unlikely source, his run too is short-lived. Even the Black cardinals get behind Cardinal Adeyemi, an ambitious cardinal from Nigeria played by Lucian Msamati, who insists he deserves the opportunity to be pope. But Lawrence finds that he too has blemishes on his record. Watching Conclave made me realize why conclaves can last years. It is an endless search for perfection among fallible human beings, none of whom began their lives as adults or priests. The process reinforces the ever-present somber reality that infallibility is both elusive and an illusion, that we must recognize we are works in progress and strive to be better. The film suggests, however, that strict adherence to the rules of the church is required and that there’s no margin for error when it comes to the papacy. This lack of flexibility could help explain why people seem to feel alienated from religion and religious institutions. While they are not one and the same, they both manifest in the lack of church-going. It makes you wonder, then, if the church itself is lacking in a relatability factor, where its leaders present themselves as pure and infallible and the congregation by contrast is made to feel like heathens. An interesting aspect of Conclave is the difficulty in locating the villain in the story. Coincidentally, COTC recently recorded a podcast on the different forms that a villain can take. In it, we also pose a question regarding audiences’ patience to watch films where the villain is not readily obvious. On the one hand, Cardinals Tremblay and Wozniak can be considered the villains for their dishonesty and bigotry, respectively. But perhaps the villain is less obvious. In his background checks and confrontations with cardinals, Cardinal Lawrence is determined to honor the late pope’s trust in him. But his efforts can also be viewed as a desperate fight to keep evil out of their sacred space. In this sense, he is not fighting the cardinals themselves; rather he is fighting the lust for power, which has the potential to corrupt the church throughout if that kind of power wins. From this perspective, power is the villain rather than the individuals themselves. Cardinals Tremblay and Wozniak behave poorly because they have been infected by a thirst for power that can ultimately fracture the church if they ascend to the role of pontiff. Given what is at stake, Lawrence’s wariness and diligence are warranted and admirable. At the same time though, it suggests he is in pursuit of an infallible human being, or perhaps just the appearance of one. I love movies that give you a glimpse of places and processes we would not otherwise see or experience. The value of Conclave is that it helps us appreciate Catholic clergy, or clergy in general, as flawed people, much like everyone else. What distorts this view, I believe, are the religious institution’s frequent adorning of accoutrements like crosses, starched robes, hats, and even certain colors (i.e. the notion of white for purity) to mask their imperfections and present themselves as holy, unbiased, without ambition, and always upright. We lowly parishioners can’t possibly measure up. Perhaps this is just naïvete on my part, but I wonder how clergy might modify their presentation to make themselves more relatable to the people they serve. Maybe this could be the beginning of making church feel like a second home again. Previous Next Sign-up for new reviews, exclusives, deep dives, and more First name Last name Enter your email here I agree to the terms & conditions Sign-up Thanks for joining us!