Corpus Christi

Forming a sort of holy trinity with Malgorzata Szumowska's Mug (2017) and Wojciech Smarzowski's Clergy (2018), Jan Komasa's study of faith, vocation, goodness and redemption brings to mind Graham Greene's novel The Power and the Glory (filmed by John Ford as The Fugitive in 1947). Yet Mateusz Pacewicz's screenplay is based on true events, as it follows 20-year-old Daniel (Bartosz Bielenia) from the brutal borstal where his Catholic conscience has been pricked by Father Tomasz to an industrial backwater. Here he poses as a newly ordained priest and not only heals the wounds caused by a tragic car crash, but also inspires a surge in church attendance through the impassioned sermons that address the everyday concerns of his flock. The odd plot point feels contrived. But Komasa directs with a conviction that also drives the mesmerising Bielenia, whether he's acting as lookout during a cellblock beating, partying hard after his release or trying to remember the rituals he's looked up online before saying his first mass.