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Inspired by true events, Jan Komasa’s multi award-winning drama Corpus Christi is a remarkable tale of morality and redemption, about a charismatic young ex-convict who fooled an entire Polish village by falsely posing as a priest. 20-year-old Daniel (Bartosz Bielenia, a major screen discovery) has found God whilst incarcerated in a youth detention centre, but his criminal record excludes him from entering the seminary. At the end of his sentence he is sent to a small town to take up a position in a woodworking factory, but thanks to a stolen collar is mistakenly taken as the parish’s new clergyman. It’s a seemingly God-given opportunity for transformation, and Daniel - whilst wholly unconventional in his approach (and after a shaky start) - takes to the pulpit with a fervour and compassion that his predecessor has clearly lacked. Meanwhile, the arrival of this magnetic young preacher seems to be the spark needed for the town to acknowledge a recent tragedy that has affected the entire community, one that few have been able to speak about. But not everyone is open to his approach, and Daniel learns the hard way that following the road to salvation can also lead one astray...
Astutely navigating themes of faith, virtue and forgiveness, Komasa’s disciplined and unflinching direction is exponentially enhanced by the simply jaw-dropping lead performance from young Bielenia. Widely hailed by critics and audiences as the stand-out discovery of the 2019 Venice and Toronto Film Festivals, Corpus Christi became a box office sensation in Poland, overtaking Pawel Pawlikowski’s Cold War by achieving over 1.35 million admissions. It demands - and deserves - equal international attention. (Palace Films)