Art house films coming to Sea View on third Thursdays

Thursday, February 27, 7 p.m., Sea View Theatre

— from Orcas Island Film Festival —

Sea View Theatre and the Orcas Island Film Festival proudly present, Third Thursdays: Art House Films.

— from Orcas Island Film Festival —

OIFF film curator Carl Spence will program a full year line-up of high caliber, art-house films beginning this month in addition to our annual OIFF Spring Mini Fest (May 1-3) and free outdoor screenings in July and August.

This month, we will screen CORPUS CHRISTI, a 2020 Academy Award nominee for Best International Feature.

Anchored by a “dynamically physical, wild-eyed performance” (The Hollywood Reporter) from newcomer Bartosz Bielenia, CORPUS CHRISTI is an incisive, darkly humorous, and “engrossing exploration of faith, second chances and the possibility of atonement” (Screen).

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.

CORPUS CHRISTI is the third feature by director Jan Komasa, whose disciplined and steadfast gaze makes for a gripping moral tale with effects that ripple beyond the screen, prompting reflection and soul searching. Can all be forgiven? Does everyone deserve a new beginning? And beyond that, does forgiveness come from above, or must it be sought within?