(Warning -for Abby's sake- the following song contains some "bad" language. I'm posting it here because I think that it complements The Island well. And because rhymes are good for you. And Sage Francis can drop rhymes like you can't.)
The Island has received the approval of Patriarch Alexei II. Sage Francis has not.
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1942. Two Russian soldiers hide in heaps of rubble when a German ship discovers their boat off an island in Northern Russia. The Germans find one of the Russians and they beat him until he reveals the location of his peer. After token resistance, he breaks and betrays his comrade.
The two Russians are then lined up against a wall to be shot. The first, already clearly seen to be a coward, drops to his knees and begs to be spared. The second calmly and cooly lights a cigarette.
The German officer in charge walks over the two and hands his pistol to the coward, commanding him to shoot his comrade. The coward protests, but the officer pulls and twists on his ear while commanding him repeatedly to shoot.
The man shoots. His comrade, shot, falls lifeless into the water behind and below the wall.
The Germans then leave as quickly and efficiently as they appeared, leaving the coward behind, alone and alive, left to be found by a group of Orthodox monks.
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The main story of The Island takes place 34 years laters in 1976. Father Anatoly is a prophet, a priest, and a prankster. He is sought after as a miracle worker by some, shunned as a fool by others. In fact, he's one in a long Russian tradition of holy fools. Others in the film are reconciled, to God and to each other, through his humility and through his humiliation.
Go on. Watch it now. I recommend it for everyone.
5 comments:
I think I'd like this one!
You're not a Film Movement subscriber, are you? I've been looking into it. If you are would you say it's worth it?
Mike, you would like this one. The Ithaca library has a copy. You should go check it out.
Jason, no, I'm not a Film Movement subscriber, but I've been sorely tempted to become one, if only because I support the idea. I'm already spending $15 a month on Netflix. I can't really justify spending $15 a month on one movie that I may or may not like and may or may not want to actually keep a copy of.
Also, have you checked out Wholphin or the Journal of Short Film?
http://www.wholphindvd.com/
http://www.thejsf.org/
I'm interested in both, but, again, it's a money issue.
Will Do! Mary and I saw "The International" at the mall for a treat.
It was a quality and gritty suspense action with a moral (to tell it would be to give away).
No bones.
M
I'm being tempted to subscribe to Netflix, but can't seem to get through the piles of library movies I have in my house, so I'm a step behind you.
Something I've considered with Film Movement is to share a subscription- you could split the films any number of ways, and if there were fights you would agree to donate the film in question to the library :). I have to convince my wife to let us get Netflix first, though. Then I'll work on Film Movement...
I have a friend who subscribes to Wholphin and I love what I've seen so far (the better part of two issues). Haven't heard of JSF- I'll have to check that out.
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