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Corpus Christi
Boze cialo

Jan Komasa  •  Poland  • ​  2019
118 mins  •  HD  •  R16 violence, offensive language, drug use & sex scenes
In Polish with English subtitles
​

Mistaken for the new parish priest, a young ex-con can’t resist the chance to play along.

​“Filled with twists and surprises… riveting right up to its closing frame. The thrilling narrative power of complex moral decisions is simply not to be denied.” – Kenneth Turan
DIRECTOR: Jan Komasa
PRODUCERS: Leszek Bodzak, Aneta Cebula-Hickinbotham

PRODUCTION CO: Aurum Film
SCREENPLAY: Mateusz Pacewicz

PHOTOGRAPHY: Piotr Sobocínski Jr
EDITOR: Przmyslaw Chruscielewski
MUSIC: Evgueni Galperine, Sacha Galperine
WITH: Bartosz Bielenia (Daniel), Aleksandra Konieczna (Lidia), Eliza Rycembel (Marta Sosińska), Leszek Lichota (Mayor), Łukasz Simlat (Father Tomasz), Tomasz Ziętek (Pinczer), Barbara Kurzaj (Widow), Zdzisław Wardejn (Father Wojciech)

FESTIVALS: Vennice, Toronto, London

REVIEW

“In Jan Komasa’s enthralling redemption tale, troublemaker Daniel (a magnetic Bartosz Bielenia), released from juvenile detention, desires to break free from a chequered past. After wandering into a village church, he’s mistaken for a new priest and seizes the divine opportunity to alter his life’s trajectory.

This close-knit village, fractured by recent tragedy, provides just the freshly turned soil Daniel needs to flourish. After shaky beginnings in the confessional booth, the young man discovers a natural empathy that elicits vulnerability and openness in his parishioners as he honestly seeks to aid a community in distress. Vicarious redemption and forgiveness seem within his grasp, but can Daniel’s transformation hold fast as harsh reality encroaches?

Riding high on the deservedly lauded lead performance of actor Bielenia, Corpus Christi weaves its existential concerns into a gripping drama, shot evocatively in muted colours and with a visual potency befitting Poland’s reputation for cinematography. Likewise, Bielenia’s Daniel exudes an unpredictable intensity throughout the entire film; an electric presence that energises even its darkest emotional turns.”

– Jacob Powell, NZIFF 2020
​
“Reminiscent of the work of Flannery O’Connor, Corpus Christi raises enduring questions about holiness and hierarchy, dogma and true devotion, and God’s plan for even the most wayward pilgrims. Komasa films his subjects in subdued, milky light, which lends them a nimbus of ethereality, frequently punctuating the action with lyrical panoramic shots of Poland’s bucolic countryside… Corpus Christi is enjoyable if only for its intriguing plot. But it also serves as a kind of prayer. To which one can only say, Amen.”

​– Ann Hornaday, Washington Post


FILM SOCIETY SCREENINGS

Canterbury   
Monday, 21 February, 7.00pm

Auckland   

Monday, 7 March, 6:15pm

​Hamilton  

Monday, 14 March, 8.00pm

​Nelson     

Tuesday, 22 March, 6.00pm

Tauranga
Thursday, 7 April, 6.30pm

New Plymouth
Wednesday, 27 April, 6pm


Timaru
​Monday, 16 May, 6pm

​
Palmerston North  
Wednesday, 25 May, 6.00pm

Dunedin
Wednesday, 13 July, 7.30pm

​Whanganui   

Monday, 19 September, 7.00pm

​Queenstown
​Tuesday, 27 September, 8.15pm


​

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Film Societies of Aotearoa New Zealand

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New Zealand Federation of Film Societies  |  PO Box 9544, Te Aro, Wellington, NZ  
Phone: +64 4 385 0162  |  Fax: +64 4 801 7304  |  Email: 
michael@nziff.co.nz
  • HOME
  • ABOUT
  • SOCIETIES
    • AUCKLAND
    • HAMILTON
    • TAURANGA
    • NEW PLYMOUTH
    • WHANGANUI
    • PALMERSTON NORTH
    • CARTERTON
    • WELLINGTON
    • NELSON
    • CANTERBURY
    • TIMARU
    • QUEENSTOWN
    • DUNEDIN
    • WESTPORT
  • 2022 SEASON
    • ROBERT ALTMAN
    • SCANDINAVIA
    • BREAKING THROUGH
    • CONTEMPORARY WORLD
    • CLASSIC & CULT
    • NZ FILM
    • FRENCH CONNECTIONS
    • AFRICAN CINEMA
    • GERMAN CINEMA