The very sound of the word ‘war’ makes something inside me flinch. With tensions simmering at our borders, I often find myself stepping back from the media, only to keep my sanity intact. But what’s been heavy on my mind lately isn’t the kind of war fought with weapons or armies—it’s the war within. The kind that erupts when ego, pride, fear, and anger collide. And I’ve come to realize: when you lock a group of men inside a room, strip away all distractions, status, and safety nets, what unfolds is not just dialogue—it’s battle. The mechanics of how we decide, what truly drives our choices, when nothing is left to hide behind.
This reflection took shape after I watched the most gripping film Conclave, a story that quietly demands attention. As I watched, I was pulled back to a film that had once left a deep imprint on me—12 Angry Men. Different times. Different contexts. But the same boiling point: men, enclosed, forced to confront uncomfortable truths—and each other.
Sacred Walls, Fragile Souls – Conclave
The walls of the Sistine Chapel have witnessed centuries of whispered prayers and fragile human politics. In Conclave, they become silent witnesses once more—as 117 cardinals, cloaked in crimson red, gather to elect the next Pope. From the outside, it feels ceremonious, structured, even divine. But what unfolds inside is far more human—layered with unspoken grief, long-held rivalries, buried truths, and silent fears.
The film begins with the Church in mourning, but very quickly we sense the tension, not just of mourning—but strtegy taking place in hushed tones. And then comes Cardinal Lawrence’s opening address—a sermon disguised as a call for humility:
“In this room, ambition must kneel before humility. We are not here to claim power, but to carry a burden no man should want.
These words were spoken softly, but landing like an arrow. But beneath the surface, each man in that room carries not just the weight of his robe—but a weight of contradictions. Faith and doubt. Loyalty and self-preservation. Ego and guilt. And now, locked within sacred walls, they are stripped of distractions, rank, and ceremony.
What remains is each man, alone with the echoes of his own soul, surrounded by uneasy silence.
There’s a beautiful unraveling that happens—not in grand speeches or melodramatic outbursts—but in small, telling moments. A trembling hand over a chalice. A bishop breaking eye contact. An old man whispering to himself after lights go out. These are not just cardinals—they are men forced into a crucible of accountability. And not all of them come out whole.
It is Cardinal Benedict, near the end, who pierces the air with a speech, “We confess our sins to God, but too rarely to one another. The real rot begins not in sin, but in silence.”
That moment lands like thunder. There is no reaction in the room. No applause. No gasps. Just a silence. But, we understand: this conclave is not just about selecting a Pope. It’s about men, broken and bare, trying to find redemption in a place that demands perfection.
Conclave is not a film about religion. It’s a film about the cost of carrying belief. About the war between duty and truth. About the kind of transformation that only happens when men are enclosed, cut off from their stage, and made to face themselves.
A Room, a Fan, a Verdict – 12 Angry Men
12 Angry Men is set in a cramped jury room on a hot summer day. A teenage boy is accused of murdering his father. The evidence seems damning. Eleven jurors are ready to vote “guilty.” One man—Juror 8—asks for more time
He doesn’t argue. He asks questions. He doesn’t point fingers. He listens.
What begins as a simple vote becomes a slow, psychological unraveling of each man’s beliefs, prejudices, and personal pain. One juror’s racism. Another’s paternal rage. Another’s indifference. One by one, the masks fall. And through nothing more than calm logic, persistence, and empathy, Juror 8 holds space for each man to find his way back to doubt—to conscience.
It’s not the verdict that grips you—it’s the transformation of the people involved. No loud persuasion, but just the art of listening, asking the right questions without rushing to justify. In today’s fast paced world, that kind of presence – so essential to true leadership – is increasingly rare.
Power in Whispered Words
Both films taught me that the most powerful moments don’t come from shouting—they come from whispering the right thing at the right time. In Conclave, it is a look, a line, a pause that redirects a roomful of cardinals. In 12 Angry Men, it is Juror 8 placing a knife into the table—not with drama, but with clarity.
Juror 8 says, “You’re not going to kill a boy because you personally hate his kind.”
Lomeli says, “Perhaps it’s time the Church serves truth, not tradition.”
These are not just lines. They are pivots. Anchors. They are the words that unstick a room hardened by ego.
The real decisions are rarely made in moments of grandeur. They’re made in silence, discomfort, and confrontation—with others, and with oneself.
And Yet… No Women in the Room
There was something else that haunted me as I watched both films: the utter absence of women.
In 12 Angry Men, the jury is entirely male, reflective of its 1950s context. In Conclave, the exclusion is institutional—only men can vote for a pope. And yet, that absence feels deeply symbolic. These are films about conscience, justice, leadership. And still, the wisdom, empathy, and emotional intelligence of women is missing from these spaces.
What might have been said differently? What truths might have surfaced sooner? What assumptions might have been broken?
I’ve seen this in real life too— These films don’t just reflect the past. They echo the rooms of today: boardrooms, parliaments, churches, courts. Places where power and policy are decided, and where half the world is often still uninvited.
Reflection in the Mirror
Watching these films stirred something deeply personal in me. As a woman, I’ve often found myself in rooms full of men — boardrooms, briefing rooms, conference tables — where I was expected to listen more than speak, to wait my turn, to measure every word. I’ve been the quiet observer, like Henry Fonda’s character in 12 Angry Men, holding back until the moment when the right facts, calmly shared, could shift the energy in the room. Not to prove I was right — Just to be heard. It takes more than confidence; it takes clarity, timing, and the ability to hold one’s ground without raising one’s voice.
These films reminded me that leadership isn’t always about the loudest voice or the firmest stance. Sometimes, it’s about staying with the discomfort long enough to ask the right question. It’s about presence — not performance. And yes, it’s also about having the humility to sit in silence when needed, and the courage to speak when it truly matters.
So What Happens After the Door Opens?
In both films, the door eventually opens. The votes are cast. The verdict is delivered. The smoke rises white.
But the real question is: what happens after the room?
Do these men carry their transformation into the world? Do they truly change? Or do they simply step out into the sunlight, quietly grateful to have endured the storm, untouched at the core?
As a viewer, I found myself asking a different version of the same question: What happens after the room empties? When the weight of choices made—or avoided—follows you out the door?
Conclave and 12 Angry Men are not just stories of men in enclosed spaces wrestling with truth. They are mirrors held up to the human condition—of ego brushing up against humility, of fear disguising itself as certainty, of how justice trembles when filtered through our personal histories. They are about how easily we cast our vote with what we’ve inherited, not what we believe. And how powerfully one voice—steady, committed, and unwilling to bend to comfort—can reshape the outcome.
If you’ve ever been the only one in the room questioning the tide, or felt the ache of standing alone in truth, these films will linger with you long after the credits roll. And perhaps, they’ll ready you—quietly, fiercely—for the next room you walk into.
Have a great day !!
