The story in 'Corpus Christi' (2020),the film by Polish director Jan Komasa, takes place in contemporary Poland. It belongs to a category of films coming from the former communist states in Eastern Europe, which portray in various forms the religious renaissance and the growing role that national churches play in people's lives and in the social and spiritual structure of post-communist societies in these countries. At the same time, the film discusses universal issues about people's ability to forgive, about the social reintegration and spiritual recovery of those who have served their sentences for past crimes, and about those who are or may be the spiritual leaders of communities. It is a film about faith and atonement, but at the same time a brutal and quite pessimistic film. In any case, the cinematic experience is powerful.

The hero of the film is a character descended as if from Dostoevsky's novels. In him are gathered simultaneously good and evil, God and the Devil, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the juvenile delinquent Daniel and Father Thomas. Being released from the toxic environment of the prison where he still had time to study theology and to watch if not to officiate religious services, the young Daniel (the extraordinary Bartosz Bielenia) is assigned to a remote village in Poland but instead of working in the factory of timber he was sent to, he ends up, more or less by chance, being confused with a young priest, a recent graduate of the theological seminary. He had dreamed of becoming a priest, he had the vocation and the charisma, but he had not been able to achieve his goal due to his criminal record. He does not refuse the opportunity to assume the role of the priest at the pulpit when the local priest asks him to take his place while he treats his illness. Soon the young and unconventional 'priest' becomes the spiritual leader of a small rural community facing the specific problems of the transition period in Eastern Europe (lack of interest and especially lack of faith from the parishioners, disoriented and futureless youth seeking refuge in alcohol and drugs) but also confronted with the trauma of a car accident in which seven inhabitants of the village perished in an instant, an accident that traumatised the families and segmented the community that ostracises the widow of the alleged culprit. Gradually gaining the trust of the villagers, 'Father Thomas' enters in conflict with the local baron, the holder of the political power (he is also mayor of the village) and of the economic power (as owner of the sawmill). The threat is twofold. Thomas is bitten by his own doubts, and knows that sooner or later what in the eyes of the authorities (church, legal) is an imposture will be discovered. Will the call and good done in the name of the Lord be enough to save him?

Not being a religious person or a good connoisseur of Catholic rites, it is difficult for me to appreciate how credible the details of this story are, although I am reading that it has its origin in various real facts. Beyond the so-called technical aspects, the film asks some valid questions in any other beliefs or moral systems. Can a sinner, a murderer become a source of good, a leader or mentor of a community? Can good deeds absolve those who committed grave mistakes (sins) in the past? Does the cassock make the priest or his deeds and the way he inspires his parishioners? If there is one message to resume this film that at times manages to be sublime and emotional, and at other times pessimistic and brutal, it would be that the answers given to these questions by the legal system according to the scale of social values and even by the institution of the church are different than those that inspire faith in the hearts of those who believe. The film is very well written and produced, the story has rhythm and fluency, the cinematography is expressive. The success of 'Corpus Christi' in places where it has been seen so far is largely due to the exceptional performance of Bartosz Bielenia, an actor of great talent and intensity, who manages to render the whole complexity of the character, with his contradictions and internal fires. The merit of director Jan Komasa is that he manages to ask important questions and lets us judge and answer ourselves, the spectators. 'Corpus Christi' is full of details about church life but you don't have to be a Catholic or a believer to resonate with the dilemmas and feelings of its hero. Same as Father Thomas's sermons and words which are addressed to all the villagers, believers or not, Jan Komasa's film is addressed to all audiences.

"Boze Cialo", which means "Corpus Christi", is a co-production between Poland and France from 2019, but the focus here is clearly on Poland because Polish is the only language from beginning to end and also the movie is set entirely in Poland. It runs for slightly under two hours and scored a great deal of awards attention from bodies all over the planet. It took until now, September 2020, for the film to reach my country Germany, but it probably would have happened earlier without the pandemic. I mean we're neighbors. Let's go on with the basics: The director is Jan Komasa and even if he has been for 15 years in the industry, he is still under the age of 40. We can certainly be curious what he has coming up in the next decades. This film here catapulted him into the elite of Polish filmmakers. After all, it was nominated for an Oscar. I just forgot to say that. This was of course the icing on the cake. But as young as Komasa may be, the writer Mateusz Pacewicz is way younger. He was in his mid20s when he worked on the screenplay here and is still under the age of 30 now. In fact, after a short film that he co-wroter and co-directed, this movie here was his very first full feature project. Quite a way to enter the stage. Polish films, also the modern ones, are always a bit on the bleak side and this one here is definitely not an exception. But I will get to that later. Now a few words on the cast. Clearly, it is difficult for non-Polish audiences to find any familiar faces here, biut not impossible. For example the older guy, who played the protagonist's mentor early on is a very experienced actor. His name is Lukasz Simlat. And there are others too. Some of the cast members are pretty young though and thus not too experienced. This also applies to lead actor Bartosz Bielenia, who is really the heart and soul of this movie and physically reminded me of a young August Diehl and now seeing his photo again, the first name that came to mind is Chris Walken. Not too shabby to be compared to those. If he is also on a similar level talent-wise is something that time will tell. I would not say he blew me away and I also feel other actors could have played the part equally well, but like I said, he is basically in this film every minute from beginning to end and it as a huge challenge for such a rather young actor. I can see why he received such a great deal of awards recognition too, even if it may be a bit exaggerated.

Now as for the story, we have a young man in prison and he is released and moves to another town where he is bound to work in a sawmill. However, his own motivation is becoming a priest, but without a good degree from school that is impossible. So what does he does he do? Go to school to fulfill his dream. Not quite. He poses as a young priest to a local girl he meets inside the church and as she is close to the priest there, things develop quickly and he is accepted in the community. Maybe a bit much of a coincidence that the resident priest is struggling with his health and has to leave for a short (then long) time to go to a health resort or something and the young gun (actually very fitting description given his past) takes over. And really dwells in his new profession immediately. His talented singing voice is of great help when he initially is not too sure about the exact process when it comes to masses. So yeah, he manages to quickly make a connection with the old and young there and with the girl he meets early on there is even more. We hear his thoughts on celibacy, see him with beer in his hands etc. so there are clear signs that he is not a professional priest, bit nobody really realizes. By the way, when he hangs out with all this young folk there was also a moment I did not find too realistic how it escalates exactly when he is with them out there for the first time and apparently this was not the first time it happened. This escalation is linked to a car accident that happened a while ago, in which six people lost their lives: the driver of a car as well as five youngsters in the other car. The sole driver is considered the scapegoat for all that in the town, but the priest is keen on changing that and at least make sure that the man gets a funeral and grave, so that his partner can say goodbye to him. There are twists around that on several occasions. One would be when we find out that the sole driver may be innocent because he was not drunk. Another would be when we find out the sole driver may have been suicidal after an argument with his girlfriend, which once again turns him into the big culprit, even if the kids in the other car are not entirely innocent either. Or at least the one who drove was not. This critical situation and the new priest's role there result in him also clashing with the mayor of the local town. The scene with the kneeling down is a prime example of how he will pull through with what he thinks is right, maybe a bit too much for his own good. I must say I struggled a bit with this. Of course, he is headstrong, but he was so new to his profession and should be careful to not get caught and that everybody would find out he is a fraud. But yeah, his impulsive character was supposed to explain that. It's up to you if you believe it is true. It not terribly unrealistic, but there are a few moments like these that I struggled with and the sum of them makes it clear to me that I would not call it a great film and that maybe the Oscar nomination is a bit exaggerated, even if admittedly the actual winner from the category (also Best Picture winner) is not really any better and also massively overrated. Okay, but now back to this one here: There is not too much I wanna say anyway anymore. I guess you get the message. The ending is also again pretty controversial. He is back to jail, probably lost contact with everybody from the town, maybe also the young woman attracted to him, and has a brutal fight with the guy who hates him from the start. And eventually he prevails and the others are about to burn the place down. Is that even possible in a prison? But it is some kind of murder then you could say. Or killing at least, so a breach of a commandment going strongly against his religious career. The role of his mentor is also interesting. Even when he sees that the young man received a great deal of fanmail you could even call it from people happy with his work as a priest, he cannot let him go on because it would go against his sense of morality and responsibility. I liked it. it felt realistic and not like a forced ending. But it is actually funny, well "funny", that it was a "fellow" man of the church who brought him down in the end and not the other thug that he actually managed to somewhat convince that he is doing the right thing. Alright, that is all then. Go see this film, especially if you care about modern religion-themed movies. Then you should also watch the German film "Kreuzweg" from a few years ago. I give "Corpus Christi" a thumbs-up, albeit not an enthusiastic one. Rating here on imdb and awards recognition are a bit too much.

"Corpus Christi" sounds on paper like it could be a screwball comedy: a young man recently paroled from juvenile detention becomes the substitute priest in a small town through a case of mistaken identity. The punchline is that he's really good at being a priest and the parishioners like him -- that is until his younger, more liberal attitudes and his experience as a troubled youth begin to rub them the wrong way when he wants them to heal the festering wounds that resulted from a town tragedy from the recent past.

This is not a comedy though, not even close. First of all, it's Polish. So that should tell you something right there. Secondly, there's not a laugh to be found in this somber story. I admired everything about this movie, but there was just some intangible ingredient missing that would otherwise allow me to recommend it enthusiastically. There's nothing wrong with it, but there's nothing great about it either.

The ending is shocking and bleak, and will probably leave people thinking. I'm still not sure how I feel about it.

Nominated for Best International Feature Film at the 2019 Academy Awards.

Grade: B+