Bartosz Bielenia plays Daniel, a former juvenile detainee who impersonates a priest in "Corpus Christi."
For another dose of emotion related to “what we’re missing this spring/summer to prevent the spread of the deadly virus,” tune in to a May 4 video from the Wisconsin Film Festival’s artistic director, Kelley Conway: “I really miss standing in line with other filmgoers, talking about the films we had just seen or were about to see,” says Conway from her home, as her placid yellow lab sits by her side. As Conway thanks the festival’s supporters, shots of full (and then empty) auditoriums scroll by, and this film lover gets misty-eyed.
The festival, which was scheduled to screen 155 films April 2-9, was another casualty of COVID-19. I, too, will miss the big-city feeling of standing in line with other cinephiles.
But not all was lost. Festival organizers managed to pull together some online offerings, including a bunch of family-friendly films that people could watch at home for free over the past weeks. And they made some high-quality titles available on-demand; the titles cost $12 to rent, and half of the $12 fee supports the Wisconsin Film Festival.
These films won’t disappear from the internet after May 7, but that is the last day that $6 of the $12 rental fee will benefit the Wisconsin Film Festival. After that, you can still support the festival’s Real Butter Fund. Also, as a bonus you can watch a series of introductory videos by Madison film luminaries such as David Bordwell at the festival’s 2020 tab.
One of the on-demand offerings, the Polish film Corpus Christi was nominated for an Oscar for Best International Feature. It is the story of a juvenile detention detainee, Daniel (a luminous Bartosz Bielenia), who wants to become a priest but is told he would never be accepted to a seminary. When he is released and banished to the countryside to work in a sawmill, he is mistaken for a visiting priest and plays along. He starts saying Mass and connecting with the townspeople, who are grieving the loss of seven young people who died in a car crash. In scene after scene, Daniel helps people relax and accept themselves, as he continues to step into the role of benevolent authority he places himself in. His simple, off-the-cuff sermons are perfect (and Polish is a beautiful language). Corpus Christi contains moments of extreme brutality, especially at the very beginning and the end (eye-covering time for sensitive viewers like me). But it is also full of tenderness and redemption. It’s a magnificent film showing how expectations can lead to actions, helping Daniel become a better man as he helps those around him.
Other on-demand offerings include movies that were certain to be standouts at this year’s festival (hint: click on the title links below to rent; it’s a bit complicated otherwise):
And Then We Danced, a gay romance from Georgia (the country, not the state).
Beanpole, a Russian feature about a nurse tending to veterans and amputees in World War II.
The Cordillera of Dreams (Best Documentary at 2019 Cannes), which contemplates Chile’s political and physical landscapes.
L’Innocente, the final film from Italian auteur Luchino Visconti.
Sorry We Missed You, the latest from class-conscious Brit Ken Loach.
A Romanian thriller called The Whistlers, where a corrupt cop in Bucharest masters an indigenous language that sounds like bird calls to solve a crime.
A White, White Day, an art film from Iceland about a man building a house while grieving the loss of his wife.
The Wild Goose Lake, a Chinese crime film set in Wuhan Province.
The Woman Who Loves Giraffes, a documentary about Anne Innis Dagg, a groundbreaking researcher who moved alone to South Africa in 1956.
Zombi Child, a zombie flick with an anti-colonial twist set in Haiti and France and the world of Creole voodoo.
I hope to see you in line at the 2021 Wisconsin Film Festival. We’ll have a lot to talk about.
