Corpus Christi joins the pantheon of excellent Polish films like Ida and Demon telling stories about faith and redemption. But where the latter two films were clearly wrestling with Poland’s actions during the Holocaust and the nation’s unwillingness to confront that past, Corpus Christi takes those themes towards crime and punishment. This is a deeply Catholic film, but don’t mistake it for the kind of faith-based pseudo-pornography we typically get in American theaters. Instead, Corpus Christi attempts to seriously wrestle with its religious notions — and offers genuine criticism of the Church.
Daniel (Bartosz Bielenia) is in juvenile detention for reasons that are not immediately understandable. He seems like a sensitive but weak kid — drawn to the priest at his facility, he nevertheless still participates in the gang beatings on vulnerable prisoners. His dream is to become a priest, but he is assured that someone with his background will never be allowed. Father Tomasz (Lukasz Simlat) helps Daniel get paroled and sent to a job at a sawmill when he becomes a target in the prison, but Daniel, frustrated at his inability to become a priest, steals one of Tomasz’ outfits on his way out. When he reaches the town at the sawmill, he stops at the local church. In a moment of whimsy, he claims he’s a priest — but little did he know that the town’s vicar is deeply tormented and could use a hand. Taking the name Father Tomasz for himself, Daniel begins living as a small town priest. What he doesn’t know, however, is that a tragic accident that claimed the lives of six teenagers and one older man tore the town apart. Daniel sets out to restore their faith, and maybe find some redemption for himself.
I am not here to pray mechanically.
I don’t know if there’s an actor on earth with a more harrowed face than that of Bartosz Bielenia. The movie knows this, and uses his face beautifully. He is at once deeply expressive and difficult to read — his immediate emotions are entirely on the surface, but it is often difficult to know what’s going on deeper. What prompts him to make that initial claim of being a priest? And what makes him stick with it? Most importantly: Why does he decide to try so hard to heal the wound that has festered in the town since the accident? I was expecting a lot more focus on Daniel’s double life. While that does come up, it’s never as much of a focus as you’d think — which is good, because those threads tend to be the film’s weakest by a landslide. Instead, Corpus Christi asks a different question: Why has this town lost faith?
The suggestion offered by the filmmaker is: Because the Church is too distant from the needs of its community. These are people dealing with raw, deeply powerful emotions. People have serious questions about the horrifying things God allows to happen. They need more than platitudes — they need real spiritual leadership. The Vicar has the Church’s authority, but Daniel understands their pain and anger. His sermons speak to the power and complexity of their relationship with God. He acknowledges their anger in a way the Church can’t. But he also sees through it. And that’s where things get dangerous for him, and for his cover.
You might have power, but I’m right.
The film Corpus Christi reminds me of most is Atom Egoyan’s The Sweet Hereafter. That movie also tracked the aftermath of a car accident that killed a number of young people in a remote area. But director Jan Komasa’s focus on the tragedy is very different. The town’s rage hasn’t settled, really, but it has cooled in the months since the crash. The Sweet Hereafter‘s outside force was a lawyer come in to take advantage of the tragedy; Corpus Christi‘s is an ex-con who genuinely wants to help.
Both are movies about profound loss, both personal and communal. But they are also about the aftermath of that loss — and Corpus Christi has a lot of thoughts. What happens when a simple mistake festers? Daniel can never become a priest because of his past, but the people of the village can move on. If they choose to. But confronting that pain might mean risking the reputations of the young people who died. It might mean upsetting the power of the town’s mayor. It might mean drawing attention to yourself.
And I think that’s why Corpus Christi works as well as it does. Komasa recognizes the difference between the very worldly power of the Church, which is susceptible to political and social pressure, and the spiritual power that has helped the Church endure for as long as it has. Religion can be such a powerful force for good… when its lessons about empathy and humanity are followed. But for so many, their experience of organized religion is more social. Who is allowed in? Who must we keep out? And how will we use this group to punish those on the outside?
You might be right, but I have power.
There were times I felt like Corpus Christi was a little too blunt with its filmmaking, a little too precious with its writing. And yet, I still found the film quite moving. There aren’t enough words for how much I liked Bartosz Bielenia’s performance. He brings so much intensity to both his preaching and his day-to-day life, but he almost never falls into the “cool priest” stereotypes propagated by ridiculous youth pastors the world over. His character is a mass of contradictions, but Bielenia holds the complexity together.
Those contradictions define the film. The jump from the drab prison to a small rural village is remarkable; the difference between Daniel’s emotional, empathetic sermons and the rote, flat reading of the vicar is crushing. The film ends on one such scene of contradiction. It’s a brutal, intense, surprisingly moving moment in which all the film’s threads collide — and all its strengths are on full display. While I have some issues with the predictability of some of the beats surrounding the “fake priest” drama, even those return wonderfully and unpredictably for its final scenes.
Ultimately, Corpus Christi is a lovely, thoughtful film. While it has some issues, a gripping central performance and an often insightful script brought the whole thing to life for me.
Corpus Christi is out in limited release. Corpus Christi was written by Mateusz Pacewicz and directed by Jan Komasa, and it stars Bartosz Bielenia.