The Sunday Morning Film Presents: The Island (2006) Run Time: 1H 54M

Greetings light readers, welcome to a different installment of the Sunday Morning Film. Right this moment it’s a few of that good Russian cinema: The Island. It’s a story of sin and redemption set on a lonely island on the White Sea.

Opinions:

Letterboxd says:

Highly effective and thought-provoking. The Island is the sort of movie that must be analyzed—its story is a parable, and each a part of it serves a function. You’ll be able to simply really feel Tarkovsky’s affect on Lungin right here. Not at all is that this a movie for everybody although—it’s fairly grim, crammed with symbolism, and calls for full consideration. I can already inform The Island will persist with me for some time, and I’m positive I’ll be watching it once more.

Selection says:

Casting former Russian rock star Pyotr Mamonov as a gaunt, scraggly bearded monk who works miracles by the icy White Sea, punchy helmer Pavel Lounguine (“Taxi Blues,” “The Marriage ceremony”) surprises followers together with his less-virile however oddly fascinating “The Island.” Whereas not as poetic or narratively advanced as Kim Ki-duk’s “Spring, Summer time, Fall, Winter … and Spring,” which it superficially calls to thoughts, this parable about religion and salvation is addressed to the identical sort of broad-minded arthouse viewers drawn to non secular themes. Refined visuals and well-paced narrative will clinch fest slots.

The Rad Trad says:

The principle theme of this film is just not forgiveness or miracles, however penance. Anatoly is commonly invited to stay with the prior and get better his failing well being, however he prefers to sleep on coals and go his time praying the Jesus Prayer. Furthermore, he reproaches these unwilling to stay a penitential or God-centered life, even his personal prior.

Would God exorcise a demon or inform of the survival in France of a would-be-widow’s husband for any outdated priest? In all probability not. Anatoly’s forgiveness and satisfaction, and presumable entrance into heaven, solely come as consequence of his penance, a penance which takes his complete life.

No penance, no peace. No struggling, no actual love. No Cross, no heaven.

It’s a nice movie and, regardless of its size, by no means actually drags, as there are few sufficient characters that the film can change focus a number of occasions in the middle of two hours with out veering away from its foremost level.

My take: I actually loved this movie. I’m a sucker for contemplatives and I secretly dream of ending my days in some distant hermitage, removed from the Web and my telephone. The surroundings is yet one more character within the story: photographs of roiling seas, craggy rocks lined with lichen, ramshackle log buildings, and lot’s and lot’s of snow set a bleak backdrop towards which the protagonist’s agonized wrestle together with his sins can correctly play out. There’s humor nevertheless it isn’t in contradiction to the non secular sternness of the storyline, slightly it accentuates it.

Directed by: Pavel Lungin

Written by: Dmitry Sobolev

Notable Actors: Pyotr Mamonov

Plot (Spoilers!):

A Russian coal barge is boarded by Germans throughout World Conflict Two. The 2 Russians aboard, Anatoly the sailor and the captain Tikhon, are captured and threatened with dying. Anatoly’s worry is obvious and the Germans provide him a selection: shoot his captain or be shot. Anatoly chooses to shoot his captain, who falls overboard. The boat is blown up by the Germans nevertheless it doesn’t sink, slightly it drifts in direction of land the place it and Anatoly are found by Orthodox monks. Anatoly is accepted into the monastery and maintains their furnace.

A long time go by and Anatoly has grow to be a sort of holy idiot with the talents to prophecy and heal. He’s deeply remorseful about taking pictures his captain and lives a bleak, ascetic lifetime of penitential prayer and work. Locals come to him for therapeutic and steerage. He’s misunderstood by his fellow monks and performs mischievous pranks on them that factors out their non secular frailties.

At some point a Soviet admiral comes to go to the monastery alongside together with his deranged daughter. Anatoly tells him the lady is possessed by a demon and takes her to an small, naked island that he makes use of to wish. He efficiently exorcises the demon and the admiral is deeply grateful. It seems that the admiral is in reality Tikhon. He was solely wounded by Anatoly and survived. He forgives Anatoly for betraying him.

Anatoly is aware of his time has come to an finish. He proclaims his dying and the monks present him with a coffin. On the motion pictures finish, we see the coffin being transported away from the island with a monk within the boat holding a big cross aloft.