Keswick Film Club - Corpus Christi

Synopsis

Members' Choice

Whilst in juvenile detention, Daniel is drawn to religion and thinks about joining a seminary. This proves impossible because of his criminal record, whereupon he travels to a small rural town to take up a job in a sawmill once he is paroled. "A little grey lie lets him take the identity of the young new priest, Tomasz, that the town is expecting, and soon Daniel is performing mass and hearing confessions while the older resident curate dries out in rehab for a while" - Leslie Feperin, Guardian - "The plot takes an interesting turn when Daniel learns that a tragic road accident has traumatised the community, and he discovers an unexpected skill at pastoral care as he tries to help heal the damaged psyches of the bereaved – many of them barely younger than himself".

So far, so good, but, as Jennie Kermode says in Eye for Film, "It's when he begins to wing it - to speak from the heart - that he discovers he really has something to give, and the realisation that he's actually helping people prompts him to reassess his own potential... 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 town drama with much bigger connotations and it thoroughly deserves its place on the world stage".