Corpus Christi (2019)

Director: Jan Komasa
Stars: Bartosz Bielenia, Aleksandra Konieczna, Eliza Rycembel
Runtime: 115 minutes

Synopsis: Daniel experiences a spiritual transformation in a detention center. Although his criminal record prevents him from applying to the seminary, he has no intention of giving up his dream and decides to minister a small-town parish.

Performances: 8/10
Screenplay: 6/10
Editing: 6/10
Cinematography: 7/10
Score/Soundtrack: 6/10

Verdict: When done properly, faith based movies can be very interesting even for people who don't really consider themselves religious. Take "Silence" or "First Reformed" for instance. They were acclaimed because they didn't have an agenda and wanted to deliver an honest look at the struggles of belief.

"Corpus Christi" is not of the quality of the two mentioned films, but still belongs in that group of movies in my opinion even though it doesn't really tackle the theme of faith but rather the topic of forgiveness. Elevated by an excellent performance by Bartosz Bielenia, who plays a young man who lied his way into becoming the priest of a small community still haunted by a recent car crash that caused the death of 6 of their children, the film's most interesting aspect is the way he deals with the consequences of the accident. Despite some lines that felt a little out of place and some scenes that were a little too overdramatized, I was genuinely invested in that storyline and was eager to know how it was going to develop as time went by. But thrown in within that narrative were lots of other sub-chapters that weren't nearly as interesting as the main one, and I really wish filmmaker Jan Komasa left them out of the film because I'd be lying if I said that they didn't take me out of it despite their clear intent. I was far more interested in the theme of forgiveness than say an awkwardly inserted romance that doesn't add much to the overall plot. I had a recurring feeling that I was watching two movies at the same time, and their marriage didn't work as much as I wanted it to simply because I found one of them to be more intriguing than the second.

"Corpus Christi" remains a fine movie driven by great performances and beautiful camerawork, but I wish it was a little more focused than it was. I still can completely see why it received a nomination in the Best International Feature category at this year's Oscars, but I definitely don't see it deserving anything more than that.

FINAL GRADE: 6/10