Corpus Christi    5 stars

The Oscar nominated film from Poland, Corpus Christi, is about a young convict who wants to go to seminary, but upon being released from prison is told that no seminary will take an ex-con. Thus, what does Daniel do? He finds a parish in a small village and convinces the people that he is in fact a priest. Not only does he convince the local priest of this, he is asked to fill in for him while he is sick. Soon Daniel is hearing confessions and is leading the Mass delivering heartfelt messages that the people love to hear. There is a subtle message in the fact that he was working in a sawmill while in prison. Of course, the audience is wondering how long can he get away with this charade? The premise is not exactly believable when it is set in the present where information on people is readily available online, but never mind that detail. Fortunately, there is more to the story as the village has recently suffered the terrible tragedy of losing six young people to an accident and it is clear there is a lot of healing needed by these people. Thus, there may have been a very good reason that Daniel happened to do his impersonation at this time. The story develops slowly throughout the movie and is aided by a superior performance by the protagonist, Bartosz Bielenia. It keeps the viewer guessing as to where the movie is going throughout. I could have seen this movie winning the Best International Film Academy Award.