First Hit: I liked this film because of how Bartosz Bielenia took ahold of his character, Daniel, and made me believe.
The premise is that Daniel (Bielenia) is in juvie for crimes that may have included murder. The film opens with him and others in a small room sawing wood with hand saws. Their instructor, who is also their guard, is imploring them to make cuts at the right angle and to use the whole blade. The set is dark with little light, and it’s more the noise of the blades going back and forth that provide the tone of this initial scene.
The guard steps out, and the boys grab Daniel, pull down his pants, and hold him down while another sodomizes him. The scene is graphic and impactful because of the way Daniel deals with it – stoically. These are rough and lost young men.
A following scene has this same group of boys standing in a room that has is set up as a chapel. Daniel is the lone altar boy, and you can see in the other boy’s faces that he’s a joke to them, especially after what just happened. Father Tomaz (Lukasz Simlat) comes in and gives an inspiring talk, and Daniel follows every word.
Daniel is to be released soon and will take a job in a sawmill in a distant city. He tells Father Tomaz that he wishes he could go to a seminary to become an ordained priest. Tomaz tells him because he’s a felon, that will not be possible.
When Daniel sees the saw mill, the place he’s been assigned to work, he flees because he knows it isn’t want he wants. Looking for a place to stay, Daniel finds a small town with a small church and goes inside. One thing leads to another, and he finds himself filling in as a Father (taking the name Father Tomaz) in this church while the resident priest is away in a detox center.
His natural compassion, boldness, and creativity help bring this small community together. He does this with inspired sermons and helping the town through a traumatic grieving process after they recently lost seven of their neighbors in a tragic accident.
The charade works until one of his old juvie nemesis tries to blackmail him.
Bielenia is amazing. The camera loves him. He just glows on the screen. He embodies this character with a real sense of authenticity, and I found myself hoping that he would never get caught masquerading as a priest. Eliza Rycembel, as Eliza, is equally wonderful. She is the first person that Daniel meets in this small town, and their relationship is engaging from the beginning. Aleksandra Konieczna, as Lidia, is excellent as the caretaker of the church’s processes and premises. Barbara Kurzaj as the vilified widow who divides the town because of the actions of her former husband is terrific. Mateusz Pacewicz wrote a powerful and inspirational screenplay. Jan Komasa captured this small Polish town realistic shots and scenes that gave this story lots of life.
Overall: This is a wonderful story that is brought to life by sublime acting and direction.