Corpus Christi

Sinner. Preacher. A mystery.

Director: Jan Komasa
Cast: Bartosz Bielenia, Aleksandra Konieczna, Eliza Rycembel
Film Info: 115 minutes, Poland, France, 2019, 16

Synopsis
Daniel is 20 and serving time in a young offenders’ institute, where he has found God and wants nothing more than to become a priest. But his violent past means that’s an impossibility.

Released on parole he is sent to a rural sawmill but makes a detour to the local church, where he is mistaken for a young novice. When the town’s priest falls ill Daniel, or Tomasz as he calls himself, steps in.

Bringing a vibrancy and charisma to the village, Daniel/Tomasz discovers an unexpected skill for pastoral care and begins to reach out to a local community, which has been recently traumatised by a terrible accident. Helping them forgive and heal, he finds his own path to redemption.

Festivals
Venice Film Festival 2019
Toronto International Film Festival 2019
IndieCork 2019
Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival 2019

Awards
Winner – Europa Cinemas Label, Venice Film Festival 2019

Quotes
“★★★★ Often moving but also disquieting and even intermittently funny, this drama unfurls a spiritual parable that is uniquely Polish but accessible to all.” – Leslie Felperin, The Guardian

“Bielenia captures a vivid sense of the emotions that Daniel experiences from the alertness of a trapped animal at the offenders institution to the euphoria that seems to surge through him after the delivery of a rousing sermon. His committed performance and Komasa’s assured storytelling convince us that God can work in mysterious ways.” – Allan Hunter, Screen International, Venice Film Festival 2019

Other
Poland’s submission to the 92nd Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film