“Corpus Christi” (Amazon)

Don’t miss watching this powerful nominee for Best International Film 2020. But if you are looking for light and distracting, Corpus Christi is not a good choice. Like other Polish films I have seen, it is bleak and raw and unforgettable. Superb acting and a charismatic protagonist will keep you riveted to the screen. (I was transfixed by his mutable face). The plot outline: a reformed and devout juvenile offender is released from “Juvie”. He ends up in a small town where he impersonates a priest and substitutes for the ill parish priest. It could have turned sentimental, trite and predictable, but it never does. It’s a deeply moving film that explores the moral ambiguities associated with collective guilt, spirituality, redemption, and identity.