"Father Anatoli (portrayed by former Russian rock star Pyotr Mamonov) lives a hermitlike existence in a remote Russian Orthodox monastery, where he's visited by people who believe he has the power to heal, see the future and exorcise demons. But Anatoli's odd behavior confuses his fellow monks, who are unaware that he's tortured by a past sin and considers himself an unworthy fraud. Pavel Lungin directed this poignant parable.
Great choice! “The Island” (Russia, 2008) is fantastic
I will add a couple more foreign ones:
“Repentance” (Georgia, 1984) (Soviet Republic at the time)
“The Color of Paradise” (Iran , 1999)
“Ivan the Terrible” (Soviet Union, 1944)
“Weeping Camel” (Mongolia, 2003)
Not only one of my favorite foreign language films, one of my favorite films, period!
The priest is passing his copy around the parish and it’s the #1 dvd request among parishioners for a Christmas prsent.
Der Bleue Engel, German,1930 starring Marlene Dietrich and Emil Jannings is also fabulous! Josef von Sternberg was the director is magnificent. Its a real period piece, German surrealism at its height.
Excellent film. We got it from Netflix, then ended up buying a copy.