Pop

Beautiful. Powerful. And cold. Delicate and sad. A testimony about a time, few people and definition of faith. Gray shadows and gorgeous lights. A priest and a village. The presence of God as song of soul. Words and looks. And courage to be yourself. A film like a ice flower, small, in facts but awful remember. The father Alexander may be any priest in Gulag. Every man for who the values are more than letters on a paper. Must see to understand a Russia. And for discover a strange science to say the truth, to kill the evil, to be more shadow in a crazy era. A film about life and its little pieces. A movie about love and pray in the childhood nuances. A confession of an old monk. In the skin of a smile. The man and his existence. The ladder. The fight.

In Orthodox Christianity there is a theme of bright sorrow -- the paradox that through suffering, some may find redemption and courage to do whatever good may remain possible even in impossible situations. This film is based on the true story of such redemption and courage during the World War II Nazi occupation of.the Pskov district, near Russia's border with Latvia, The central character, an Orthodox priests sent to serve the faithful in a remote village, is scorned by both the occupying forces and communist partisan guerillas. Under constant threat, he and his wife sacrifice themselves to bring whatever comfort they can to their community, feeding the hungry, confronting evil, and caring for a growing family of orphans. The sorrow is real and unrelenting, often overpowering the underlying sense of redemption. The cinematography is quite beautiful. However, to an English speaker, the subtitles could be confusing. To understand the narrative it helps to bring at least some prior knowledge of the plight of Orthodox Christians under Stalin's totalitarian regime.

"The Priest"/Поп joins several recent Russian entries (including "Punishment Batallion"/Штрафбат and two or three of the set-pieces within Sergei Mikhalkov's ponderous "Burnt by the Sun- 2"/ Утомленные солцем- 2) as part of a de facto common effort to rescue post-Soviet cinema from the stereotypes, fables and large-scale falsification that the Soviet movie industry was largely confined to for most of the period covering 1942-91-- and managed to pass along, if only as a mindset, to many in the succeeding Russian industry and general public after the Soviet Union finally went out of business (not a moment too soon).

For every rare kernel of truth-- and there were indeed a few in "Ballada of a Soldier"/ Баллада о солдате and "Come and See"/ Иди и смотри, for example-- there were 20 (or 200 or 2000) Big Lie whoppers planted within the waves of propaganda films masquerading as cinema (and not very well) that Soviet audiences were subjected to for half a century. Setting all this aside has not, of course, been easy-- particularly when you have figures like the mayor of Moscow adamantly insisting that Stalin should be honored as part of the nation's celebration of the 65th anniversary of victory in the war. Yikes.

"The Priest" profits enormously from Sergei Makovetsky in the lead, an actor whose range is among the broadest in the profession (Evgenii Mironov is his principal competition). The film is less plot-driven than episodic-- which is as it should be, since its premise is a plot unto itself: a Russian Orthodox priest functions under German occupation on territory that has changed hands multiple times over a single generation. Whom to serve and how are all the "plot" necessary; and the answers on offer are not pat.

Russian viewers have taken home much that is new to them from this film, and non-Russian audiences, even those unfamiliar with the contested history of the region, will likewise find considerable food for thought here. Briefly put, "The Priest" will reward different audiences on many levels, and deserves wide distribution outside (current) Russian borders. Highly recommended.

it is a testimony. honest. cruel. not easy to understand in its deeply roots. it is the story of Orthodox Church, not Russian only, under war and Communism. a touching and powerful fresco about resistance, courage and pain. about conscience 's voice and about the small things who defines yourself in better times. an artistic film who has status of documentary not only for historical accuracy but for the precise portrait of a state of soul in cruel fight against different forms of evil. a film who could be a remember. or a remember. the status is not important. only the message. and the message is about the need to not ignore the scares from the past.

Living among evil and remaining a human being , a priest who follows Christ with his own life. This movie is underrated. War movies deliver a very important message to all viewers, that history repeat itself and everyone should be ready to stop the war wherever you can.

Our grandfather's always wished for one thing " let there be no war " do you understand no war is all we need.

Best quality of a human being like self sacrifice shines through in those ones who follow Christ with their life.

History of conflict is a concentrated time when one day may contain same amount of happenings as in a whole life of normal living.

The work of a supporting actress is a best I've seen.