In the movies, when a Con Man comes to town, he always leaves a bit of true grace in his wake. From Elmer Gantry to Harold Hill, even after they’re caught, an aura of something positive remains.* So in this excellent Polish film, claiming inspiration from a true story, a religious-leaning 20-something ‘juvie’ on parole skips his appointment at the small town sawmill where a job is waiting, only to stumble into the role of a young itinerant priest. It’s a con of opportunity, not something planned; faking his way into the hearts & minds of a small parish with bits of memorized dogma & cues off a SmartPhone when the local vicar needs medical treatment and leaves the earnest young man in charge. With his modern straightforward manner and unconventional responses to a town still suffering from the tragic death of six youngsters after a car crash, our faux priest only starts to get into trouble when he subsumes into his new role and asks forgiveness not only for the ‘victims,’ but also for the perpetrator. If indeed the guilty and innocent parties are as clear as first indicated. Life is complicated. Especially when you have to hide your true past. Bartosz Bielenia, who looks something like a very young Richard E. Grant, makes a fine Doubting Thomas whose belief in his assumed priestly powers grows into a problem, but he could have used a bit more help from director Jan Komasa. The film’s deliberate pace sometimes hanging fire. But the situation is fascinating, uncomfortably suspenseful and not without moments of spiritual clarity. A clarity that sometimes goes missing in Piotr Sobocinski Jr. consistently misty lensing.
DOUBLE-BILL: *See Humphrey Bogart, of all people, have a go at faking his way thru a Latin Mass as a Con Man priest in THE LEFT HAND OF GOD/’55. https://maksquibs.blogspot.com/2019/06/left-hand-of-god-1955.html
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