W imie...

it can be beautiful, strange or ambiguous. courageous or to close by blasphemy. in fact, it is only impressive. cold and bitter, gray and strange, it is not exactly a love story but image of a self definition fight. the theme makes difference not for the story itself but for the status of ingredient in a Polish movie. and the most important virtue , in this case, is the performance who sustain not only the story but the intentions of director. it is not easy to say if it is a good or bad film. because, after its end, important remains only the feeling. a kind of emotion who makes the film to be part of your memories. and image of an isle in which nothing can be clear, nothing has solution or roots. a film about solitude of choices. and that is all.

This is a very effective, very positive and yet oddly disturbing movie about the fitful coming out of a 40ish gay priest in Poland. His name is Adam, and he looks nothing like a priest except while on duty. He's always known he's gay, but he's serious about his vocation and has stayed closeted in order to keep his vows of celibacy.

He has a special gift for helping troubled teenage boys, which his superiors value greatly. His homosexuality has never led to anything remotely inappropriate with a boy (or with a man, for that matter), but he is periodically transferred in order to keep even rumors from interfering with his very valuable ministry. Most recently he was moved from Warsaw to an isolated rural parish with a small work-home for boys on furlough from reformatories.

This is a complex movie, and trying to summarize its plot would be a disservice. It is not predictable, not typical of gay movies, of priest movies, or of any other sort of movies I can think of. It's not the story of a type of man but of THIS man. So, like any real human being, Adam is more complicated than a normal movie character, and the director does not try to make him easy to understand.

In part because it's NOT predictable, this movie is fascinating to watch, and the end is especially satisfying. The movie is disturbing not because of anything that happens, but because everyone and everything in it looks dirty.

I know that sounds superficial, but sometimes the most superficial things in life are the most distressing. Even after bathing, the characters look grimy, everything indoors is dingy, and outdoors is nothing but dust. I don't know if rural Poland really is as miserable as this movie makes it appear, or if the director was intentionally creating a disturbing ambiance for the movie.

Although it's disturbing, that ambiance adds to the complexity of the movie and enhances its effectiveness. I watched it twice; it was richer and even more satisfying the second time.

Wonderful treatment of the charged subject of men who love men in Catholic society and within the church in particular. Subtle script,phenomenal acting, and a very gentle approach to the characters and their humanness. Last but not least, every shot is a masterpiece of composition, lighting, and attention to colors and details. Undoubtedly this film presents a heretofore taboo topic and offers a human and livable solution to the real-life misery that so many men who love men have experienced over the ages, especially in conservative societies. Throughout the film I thought of it as one that only describes but prescribed a reality that it helps emerge by depicting it as an option. The main protagonist is so lovable and good-intentioned that it comes could really provide as a cobblestone on the path to social change vis-a-vis homophobia.

I think I've picked this film to watch several years apart. I found it very heart felt and interesting. A priest struggling with his sexuality. Boys struggling with theirs.

This well-acted, carefully directed Polish film is the story of Adam, a priest in a small rural town trying to repress his homosexuality as he helps a group of troubled teens to find their footing again. Adam has a good heart and is mostly disciplined, represented by his running which he refers to as "a prayer." Without every directly saying so, the film is an indictment of the celibacy thrust on anyone wanting to become a Catholic priest--and the cost of that celibacy--but more than this it is a film about needing love and, even more so, FEELING love that can't be expressed or pursued in a relentlessly homophobic environment. Adam's intermittent alcoholism reflects the cost of self-denial: his entire life seems like self-abnegation to try to squelch his desires--a hopeless and costly endeavor.

While Andrzej Chyra is excellent as Adam, it is Mateusz Kosciukiewicz as Lukasz who is a revelation here. Kosciukiewicz plays Lukasz as troubled and sensitive, taciturn and prone to outbursts--and we can readily understand why Adam is so drawn to him. It's a brilliant performance by Kosciukiewicz, layered and touching, one worth the whole price of admission.

If there are flaws in this film, they are directorial choices. There are too many scenes of the boys being violent and abusive; we got the picture the first time or two. When we finally get to the passion we know is in Adam and Lukasz, the camera is simply moving around too much, the scene too obfuscated in dim lighting. We need to feel these moments. Also, I'm going to guess that both actors are probably straight in real life. As talented as they both are, they never actually kiss in that scene: there would be very passionate kissing. Maybe they should have watched Brokeback Mountain to see how two 'straight' actors simply threw themselves into their scenes of passion.

We're left with certain questions at the end of In the Name Of--and that's fine--but the final scene is truly perplexing. Worth the watch. In many ways, a beuatiful film but not an easy one.