Based on a bestselling novel by Robert Harris, the Oscar-tipped film imagines what goes on behind the scenes of the secretive process – complete with scheming, smearing and leaking.

Berger, whose credits include the Oscar-winning “All Quiet on the Western Front,” described “Conclave” as a “chess game of political intrigue” that could have taken place at a multinational company or in Washington. A top job is open, and people are vying for it. “It just happens to be within the Vatican,” he said.

The political maneuvering of cardinals gathered in the Vatican to choose a new Pope gives rise to fine performances but merely methodical drama.