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Bookmark this pageThe Island (2006)
Director: Pavel Lounguine
Movie review
From Time Out London
Not quite a monastery, more a handful of crumbling buildings and a bell tower, this retreat on an island in the Baltic is home to Father Anatoly (Pyotr Mamonov), a seemingly unofficial Orthodox monk said to possess mysterious healing powers. He’s certainly a man of contradictions – riddling prankster one minute, fervent worshipper the next – whose devotion is partly explained by the opening World War II flashback showing Nazi invaders forcing him into killing a comrade. What follows is a contemplative fable, not without its wry wit, which effectively ponders the workings of faith, specifically the connection between gnawing guilt and a desire to do good – the austerely beautiful surroundings (think ECM album covers) providing a strikingly appropriate context. Haunting cinematography and Mamonov’s persuasive central performance almost seal the deal, yet there’s something just too pat about the storytelling which prevents total surrender.Author: Trevor Johnston
Time Out London Issue 2059: 4 - 10 February, 2010
Cast & crew
Director: Pavel Lounguine
Cast: Piotr Mamonov, Dmitry Dyuzhev, Victor Sukhorukov full cast
Genre(s): Drama
Duration: 112 mins
UK Release: Feb 5 2010
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