Corpus Christi [Online]
Screen this title
April 1–15
on Film Movement Plus
April 1–15
on Film Movement Plus
$12 General Admission
through Film Movement Plus
One ticket good for a three-day pass to watch Corpus Christi. Your purchase supports Northwest Film Forum!
Jan Komasa
Poland
2019
1h 56m
About
** Your ticket supports Northwest Film Forum as they present Poland’s 2020 Oscar entry for Best International Feature Film as an online screening! **
Anchored by a “dynamically physical, wild-eyed performance” (The Hollywood Reporter) from newcomer Bartosz Bielenia, Corpus Christi is an incisive, darkly humorous, and “engrossing exploration of faith, second chances and the possibility of atonement” (Screen).
After spending years in a Warsaw prison for a violent crime, 20-year-old Daniel is released and sent to a remote village to work as a manual laborer. The job is designed to keep the ex-con busy, but Daniel has a higher calling. Over the course of his incarceration he has found Christ, and aspires to join the clergy – but his criminal record means no seminary will accept him. When Daniel arrives in town, one quick lie allows him to be mistaken for the town’s new priest, and he sets about leading his newfound flock. Though he has no training, his passion and charisma inspire the community. At the same time, his unconventional sermons and unpriestly behavior raise suspicions among some of the townsfolk – even more so as he edges towards a dark secret that the community hasn’t revealed in the confessional booth.
Images and synopsis courtesy of Film Movement.
Praise for Corpus Christi:
“If Oscars were decided according to the speed with which voters flipped out when they stared into the eyes of the principal character, Corpus Christi would be an easy winner. Corpus Christi is neither a parable nor an allegory, yet image after image seems charged with intent, from the opening shot—of carpenters’ saws, grating to and fro like instruments of torture—to the climax, an apocalyptic welter of fire and blood. This Daniel has no need to enter a lions’ den. If I were a lion, I’d be afraid to enter his.” – Anthony Lane, The New Yorker
“Often moving but also disquieting and even intermittently funny, this drama unfurls a spiritual parable that is uniquely Polish but accessible to all. Piotr Sobociński’s blue-toned cinematography enhances the rapturous air and enhances a smartly written, unsettling work of realism.” – Leslie Felperin, The Guardian
“An intelligent and provocative film which alternately charms and unsettles, Corpus Christi is Poland’s entry for the 2020 Best Foreign Language Oscar. It’s a small torn drama with much bigger connotations and it thoroughly deserves its place on the world stage.” – Jennie Kermode, Eye for Film
A MESSAGE FROM NORTHWEST FILM FORUM:
Sitting at the starting point of the Coronavirus outbreak in the United States has been a fast-moving, surreal experience, where every plan Northwest Film Forum has made as a public space has mutated several times within a matter of hours. As Seattleites collectively settle into the reality that our next few months of gathering will take place on a digital plane, we at NWFF are endeavoring to do the best we can to continue building community! Throughout this difficult process, we cannot lose our sense of human connection and accountability towards one another.
Our team pivoted within a matter of days to move our entire ByDesign Festival onto a digital platform. We appreciate the solidarity of distributors like Film Movement, who are moving just as quickly to support art house cinemas with innovative presentation formats like this one. NWFF plans to maintain active dialogue with you, using many tools as we can—whether that means adopting platforms like Kino Lorber’s, using our own Vimeo Live stream and its built-in audience discussions, or hosting post-screening Q&As and workshops via Zoom—so that we can navigate this unpredictable new world together. ❤️