Conclave watchlist: Movies to watch ahead of papal election

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MANILA, Philippines — The Catholic faithful patiently wait as the College of Cardinals prepare to gather for the conclave that will decide who will become the next Supreme Pontiff.

Following the death and burial of Pope Francis, the College of Cardinals has announced the papal election will begin on May 7.

Starting that day, 135 cardinals will be sequestered, sealing themselves daily inside the historic Sistine Chapel until one individual receives the two-thirds majority of votes that will make him the next pope.

While waiting for the announcement of the next leader of the Catholic Church, here is a list of movies to keep you occupied until the white smoke emerges.

'Conclave' (2024)

Arguably the most talked about movie the past month, "Conclave," based on the book by Robert Harris, is a dramatization of the very same electoral process the cardinals are about to embark on.

"Conclave" stars Ralph Fiennes as Thomas Lawrence, the Dean of the College of Cardinals, who must run the titular conclave amid all the secrets and scandals of select candidates.

The movie received eight nominations at the most recent Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Fiennes, winning for Best Adapted Screenplay.

'Angels & Demons' (2009)

The conclave serves as the backdrop of Ron Howard's second adaptation of a Dan Brown novel featuring symbologist Robert Langdon, with Tom Hanks reprising his role from 2006's "The Da Vinci Code."

"Angels & Demons" sees Langdon helping Vatican personnel locate a bomb and four kidnapped cardinals hidden somewhere in the Holy See, actions supposedly done by the Illuminati.

The film was not as controversially panned as "The Da Vinci Code," with some calling it a more thrilling watch. A third Brown adaptation about the fictional Langdon, "Inferno," was released in 2016.

'The Two Popes' (2019)

Like "Conclave," "The Two Popes" by Fernando Meirelles saw a rise in viewership since Pope Francis' passing.

Based on a play by Anthony McCarten (who wrote the film's screenplay), the movie features fictional conversations between Pope Benedict XVI and his successor to the papacy, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio.

Jonathan Pryce played Bergoglio while Anthony Hopkins played Benedict XVI. Both received Oscar nominations for acting, as well as McCarten for adapted screenplay. None of them won their categories.

'Habemus Papam' (2011)

This Italian-French film stars Nanni Moretti — who also directed, co-produced, and co-wrote — as a psychoanalyst called in to assist the newly elected pope.

The late veteran French actor Michel Piccoli portrays the reluctant cardinal who becomes pope. He suffers a panic attack before his public unveiling, hence the need for a psychoanalyst.

The title, when translated to English means "We have a pope," is the phrase uttered whenever a new pope has been chosen.

'The Shoes of the Fisherman' (1968)

Starring legendary actors Anthony Quinn and Laurence Olivier, this movie also involves a reluctant new cardinal who becomes pope by acclamation.

The film is based on the 1963 book of the same name by Morris West, which tackles Vatican and Cold War politics.

Quinn's character, Kiril Pavlovich Lakota, the Metropolitan Archbishop of Lviv, is newly freed after years in a Siberian labor camp. His former gaoler, Olivier's Piotr Ilyich Kamenev, is the new head of the Soviet Union.

RELATED: How did 'Conclave,' 'The Two Popes' shoot Sistine Chapel scenes?