Film Movement Press Release: Corpus Christi (Blu-ray) (1 Viewer)

[Ronald Epstein]

"One of the year's best directed films, foreign or otherwise"
-- Mina Takla, Awards Watch

"This is a blistering drama, intense, disturbing and inescapably
thought-provoking...riveting right up to its closing frame"
-- Kenneth Turan, The Los Angeles Times

"Original and absorbing."
-- David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter

SINNER. PREACHER. IMPOSTER.

NOMINATED FOR THE 2020 ACADEMY AWARD®
FOR BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM, JAN KOMASA'S
ACCLAIMED FEATURE IS A POWERFUL, PROVOCATIVE DRAMA
ABOUT RELIGION, FAITH AND REDEMPTION

CORPUS CHRISTI

Street Date: June 23, 2020
Blu-ray/DVD/Digital: $34.95/$24.95

Inspired by True Events, this Breakthrough for Polish Director Komasa,
Certified Fresh by Rotten Tomatoes with 97%, Arrives on Blu-ray,
DVD and Digital This June with Extras Including a Making -of Featurette
and the Bonus Short Film "Nice to See You" by Komasa

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Corpus Christi - Official U.S. Trailer

SYNOPSIS
Anchored by "an absolutely electrifying central performance" (Washington Post) from newcomer Bartosz Bielenia, CORPUS CHRISTI is an incisive, darkly humorous, and "engrossing exploration of faith, second chances and the possibility of atonement" (Screen Daily).

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.

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Winner of numerous international awards, CORPUS CHRISTI was acclaimed by critics and audiences alike. G. Allen Johnson of the San Francisco Chronicle called them film "interesting and irresistible... a sort of cross between Paul Schrader's recent film of spiritual crisis, First Reformed, and Steven Spielberg's Catch Me If You Can." William Bibbiani of The Wrapsaid Komasa's film was "astounding" and "a beautifully realistic morality play." And lead Bielenia also garnered universal acclaimed for his award-winning portrayal of an ex-con turned priest. Says David Fear of Rolling Stone, "Corpus Christi is definitely blessed with a hell of a charismatic lead in Bielenia, a blue-eyed actor with a matinee-idol good looks, an intense stare and light comic chops...Once he finds his groove regarding his calling, you can also see why people would look to him for guidance, and other things. He's your new Hot Priest, Eastern European Division."

BONUS FEATURES

• Making-of Featurette
• Bonus Short Film - Nice to See You (Directed by Jan Komasa | Poland | 16 minutes) - A college student is taken by surprise when her father mysteriously shows up asking her to move back home.

PROGRAM INFORMATION

Type: Blu-ray/DVD/Digital (iTunes, Amazon, Vudu)
Running Time: 116 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 Widescreen
Audio: DTS HD Master Audio/Dolby Digital 5.1
Language: Polish with English Subtitles

About Film Movement

Founded in 2002, Film Movement is a North American distributor of award-winning independent and foreign films based in New York City. It has released more than 250 feature films and shorts culled from prestigious film festivals worldwide including the Oscar-nominated films Theeb (2016) and Corpus Christi (2020). Film Movement's theatrical releases include American independent films, documentaries, and foreign art house titles. Its catalog includes titles by directors such as Hirokazu Kore-eda, Maren Ade, Jessica Hausner, Andrei Konchalovsky, Andrzej Wajda, Diane Kurys, Ciro Guerra and Melanie Laurent. In 2015, Film Movement launched its reissue label Film Movement Classics, featuring new restorations released theatrically as well as on Blu-ray and DVD, including films by such noted directors as Eric Rohmer, Peter Greenaway, Bille August, Marleen Gorris, Takeshi Kitano, Arturo Ripstein, King Hu, Sergio Corbucci, Ettore Scola and Luchino Visconti. For more information, please visit www.filmmovement.com. Visit www.filmmovementplus.com for more information about Film Movement Plus, the new subscription streaming service from Film Movement.

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[bujaki]

Truly an excellent film that should have opened before the AA ceremony for it to have some momentum at the box office. I did see it on the big screen. Highly recommended.

 

[JoeStemme]

Still one of the best films I've seen in 2020.
Polish Director Jan Komasa's Oscar Nominated (International Film) CORPUS CHRISTI is brutal yet uplifting. Mateusz Pacewicz' screenplay is loosely inspired by an incident in Poland where a man impersonated a Priest in a small town. Here, our impersonator is Daniel (Bartosz Bielenia) a former inmate at a particularly grim youth detention center, who nonetheless finds some solace in the jail's religious services. Through a series of circumstances, he finds himself accepted as a Priest in such a tiny village. The church is recovering by a tragedy which has split the community. Daniel, it turns out, is a natural preacher. What he lacks in clerical background, he more than makes up in energy and enthusiasm. The theme here of redemption is clear, but, it is to the filmmakers' great credit that it is never made too obvious nor easy. Daniel is a deeply flawed young man that a few sermons cannot heal. His demons are always evident, both literally and within his thoughts and actions. Nor does Komasa paint the citizens with a broad brush. They don't act in unison beginning as doubters and then all joining together in support of their new priest. Daniel is neither all sinner, nor all saint. It isn't a 'Hollywood' concoction where all the grey area is stamped out. Bielenia has a natural screen presence (and very expressive eyes) which grabs the screen. Komasa's Direction is strong and he handles the tonal shifts well. CORPUS CHRISTI is a complex but highly spiritual film, and not strictly in a religious sense. It shows how the human spirit can be uplifted from within, and that it is not necessarily bestowed by trappings such as robes and other religious symbols.