The Priest (2009)

Surprisingly incoherent and boring

Fantastic!

Beautiful, moving film.

There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.

"The Priest" deals with a fascinating piece of history from World War II. The Orthodox Church sends missionaries to the Russian countryside in order to enable a spiritual awakening among the common people, whose faith cooled under the skeptic Soviet regime. As the German invasion progress and the villages fall under enemy control, however, these missionaries reach a stalemate. Should they collaborate with the Germans, who promise freedom to preach and collect countless triumphs in the battlefield? Or should they resist the foreign invasion, therefore siding with the communists, who not long ago nearly destroyed the Orthodox cult?Numerous plot possibilities arise from this dangerous puzzle. The director Vladimir Khotinenko chose a good one. He present us the kind Father Alexander, assigned to a mission in the Zakaty village, close to Pskov. The village is under German administration and Father Alexander holds his rituals regularly. His rights are guaranteed by Ivan Fyodorovich, a Russian-born Wehrmacht officer. The German brutality, however, increasingly bothers Father Alexander. POWs are mistreated, ruthless public executions take place right in front of Alexander's church, the local fascist militia carries out degenerate actions. Eventually, Stalin manages to turn the tide of the war. Ivan Fyodorovich's prophetic words from the early scenes assume dreadful shape: "If it weren't for this war, every single church would be torn down by the Soviets... together with you." Father Alexander is now stuck in a no-win situation, threatened by communist retaliations and abandoned by his peers, for the Orthodox Church officially endorsed the Soviet cause in 1943. Indeed, we have a good plot. It amazes me in every way."The Priest", however, somehow loses all its grace. I felt tired while watching it. I found it dull and amateur. It looked like a poor quality flick from the 90s, to be fair. Obsolete camera techniques and editing tools ruined the experience. Who told Khotinenko random slow motion frames would look cool? I generally don't pay much attention to image details, but the issues here are glaring.Moreover, the soundtrack is manipulative, repetitive and unoriginal. The scenes supposed to be transcendental and sacred, supposed to inspire religious fervor, look ridiculous thanks to the score and the filming. Lastly, the supporting actors are not really talented. They were unconvincing and unnatural in most situations. On the other side, the actors playing Father Alexander, his wife Aletvina and the Wehrmacht officer have done a wonderful job. But in no way they could save this film, not at all. "The Priest" is a clear waste of potential. Such captivating background story deserves a serious approach from a competent director. I hope something good comes out soon.

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.

Its a real creation of Art! Film impressed me a lot. I'm an actor and in 90% of films I see how good or bad was made editors work, I think about how bad or good was play of actors etc... When I watched this film I forget that picture on a screen is "just a play" - everything was More Real than ANY 3-d or "23-d"... In some moments I cry... I don't remember when I cry because of film... "Pop" is the one of the greatest films I ever seen...I can't believe that I communicated with the person which played Father Alexander... It's some magic when some (even a little bit, but familiar) person turns Role into Real Person! I know that Makovetsky is an actor but at this film he is more Real Priest than some Priests in Churches... Makovetsky is one of the Greatest actors today and may be here is the best his role... Soon I will watch this film again because it touches my heart...

After film viewing at a cinema I was overflowed with emotions. All film to me never was to be looked on hours, moreover — I did not want, that it is a fine film came to an end in general because all it — from the beginning and is up to the end thought over very well. All roles, at the highest level are played by talented actors. The scenario is written ideally.The idea of a film is very interesting. The film forces us to think about almost most Insufficiently studied a Great Patriotic War episode. He forces to reflect on those people who stayed under fascist occupation, for those who revived belief of these people in God or gave the chance to people to pray in the temples violently converted in clubs. Certainly, all this revival occurs against German occupation. It is impossible to tell that Germans promoted Orthodoxy revival, it was only the step that in case of successful capture of the earths of our Fatherland to seem to us not invaders, enemies, and deliverers from Bolshevist's the authorities. But, fortunately, at them it it has not turned out. I even think that war has a little helped Orthodoxy revival, but I do not try to protect aggressors at all.I was interested by one of film episodes when in a room where the father sits, the fly flies. As a whole about one half-minute on the screen we observe the world eyes of a fly. I wish to notice that it has not made any influence on a plot, the director has decided to show it simply so, underlining that the nature takes place to be even in such dramatic film. I am not going to spend analogies with any or films, but in November, 2009 I could look absolutely other on a genre a film «Ukroshchenie stroptivykh» where about one minute we saw the world eyes of a bee which too has not brought any contribution to an overall picture, but in particular the director and all its creation has been strongly enough scarified for this episode. Into this account I will tell the following: «the Person wishes to see nonsense of an episode in that film which about any to it was not pleasant to the reasons and consequently criticizes almost any episode of the film which has not pleasant to it».But I will return to this film. Sergey Makovetsky, has served its purpose simply irreproachably, perfectly well, with full self-return. It so has reincarnated in a role of the cleric that if I did not know it as actor earlier, I would think that in a film have invited to act in film the present father. Other actors, which surnames, I think, it is not necessary to sound also were on the ball.Such films as "Pop" are postponed in heart for ever. Having looked such cinema, cinema let out by our Fatherland about ours, the Russian history, it would be desirable to be proud of the Native land even more, than was proud earlier.