Rating: 
Summary: Powerful and moving
Review: "St Vincnet Boys" Is one of those Films that you find hard to say was Brilliant, because of its content. Its hard in the same way that Schindlers List was hard to review as a brilliant film as it was a devistating true event. (if you get my meaning.) As you sit and watch this film you are taken on a journey of pain and helpness, as you watch these poor children get driven through a cascade of torture, both mental and physical.
The acting is superb! of both that of the adults and the children, and is a credit to the director.
enjoy the film, but remember it is a true story and unfortunelty one of many.
Rating: 
Summary: Priestly Abuse
Review: After just having viewed the VHS version of this film, I felt compelled to come back to this site and re-read the reviews posted by customers. Overall, I must say that I agree with the majority (particularly the praise for Henry Czerny, who portrays Brother Lavin) of positive recognition. The main things I had a slight problem with, however, were that I felt there were several important unaswered questions and was left wondering if I had missed a 3rd tape. By far, tape 1 of this 2 tape set was the more powerful & emotional of the 2.
Overall, a great movie for those who like true life drama (this is loosely based on actual events) but be forewarned: there are several scenes with (in my opinion) complete unnecessary child nudity. There, to me, was no need for the lingering shots of the young male backsides in the shower and it left me with more than a little bit of uncomfortable feelings and I question the need for those clips.
Excellent acting, great production value, great direction.
Rating: 
Summary: POWERFUL, EMOTIONAL....
Review: After just having viewed the VHS version of this film, I felt compelled to come back to this site and re-read the reviews posted by customers. Overall, I must say that I agree with the majority (particularly the praise for Henry Czerny, who portrays Brother Lavin) of positive recognition. The main things I had a slight problem with, however, were that I felt there were several important unaswered questions and was left wondering if I had missed a 3rd tape. By far, tape 1 of this 2 tape set was the more powerful & emotional of the 2.
Overall, a great movie for those who like true life drama (this is loosely based on actual events) but be forewarned: there are several scenes with (in my opinion) complete unnecessary child nudity. There, to me, was no need for the lingering shots of the young male backsides in the shower and it left me with more than a little bit of uncomfortable feelings and I question the need for those clips.
Excellent acting, great production value, great direction.
Rating:
Summary: Priestly Abuse
Review: An excellent movie for those interested in the law enforcement aspects of pederasty as practiced and hidden in the hierarchy of the Church. A good look at reality and is a movie to enlighten those who do not believe that this kind of abuse continues today. Used in my criminal justice course entitled Child Abuse, Investigation and Prevention. A Good teaching vehicle for those who wish to stop this most heinous of crimes.
Rating:
Summary: Thought-provoking
Review: An hour and a half of shame and abuse followed by an hour and a half of how the boys turned out a decade later as a result. With such fine acting, you will not be able to turn off the movie despite the length. And I promise you that you'll be thinking about the characters for days to come.
A Catholic friend who studied to be a priest watched this film with me and said afterward that it is the most accurate portrayal of life in the priesthood that he had ever seen. He talked about the film for weeks.
Rating:
Summary: John Smith created a compelling film
Review: Canadian director John N. Smith created a superb dramatic film with the Boys of St. Vincent. The film will anger and move you, which good film ought to do. For Canadians we remember that the release of this film in Ontario and some Eastern provinces was originally held up by a Court order ban. The Christian brothers did not want the film to run as they argued to the court that the despictions could unfairly prejudice a jury, in the trials that were proceeding against abusive clergy. A higher court eventually overturned the ban, after the Judge herself viewed the film. The film was important as it brought the very important issue of institutional child abuse into the homes and minds of the nation. Some reviewers have noted that they were put off by the brief nudity. I think that this is a very North American response. There is an excellent journal article that was written in - Canadian Journal Communications vol.21 Num. 3- titled Violations: The Boys of St. Vincent, by Professor Jeannette Sloniowski of Brock University. I think that her article addresses the concerns raised by the reviewers and provides a solid examination of American response to such film. I did not include a link to the article, because I don't think we are supposed to do that. But if you search with google "Canadian Journal Communications Boys of St. Vincent" you will get the journal article.
Rating:
Summary: A haunting masterpiece
Review: Glowing superlatives are so common nowadays--especially those applied to less-than-deserving movies--that it sounds both trite and excessive to say that "The Boys of St. Vincent" is one of the most engrossing and indescribably powerful films I have ever seen. This is one time I'll risk sounding trite and excessive. A galvanizing drama of sprawling and intimate proportions, "The Boys of St. Vincent" tells the devastating story of several young boys at a Catholic orphanage and the priests who subjected them to years of physical and sexual abuse. The first half focuses on one particular ten-year-old, Kevin Reevey (Johnny Morina), who attempts to escape the sinister and violent affections of Brother Peter Lavin (Henry Czerny). A good-hearted janitor alerts the police, and an investigation begins--but forces above halt the proceedings for the sake of protecting St. Vincent's reputation. The second half begins fifteen years later, when the boys are all grown men, and documents their attempts to bring their abusers to trial, and expose the cover-up that delayed the cause of justice. "The Boys of St. Vincent" tells its story so convincingly, and with such little display of effort, that it's easy to underestimate its effectiveness. As a horror story, it creates a claustrophobic environment dominated by a man who is both unspeakably evil and recognizably human--thanks to Czerny, who turns in a performance as terrifying as it is eerily complex. The actual molestation is depicted with enormous restraint, and although you are never left in doubt about exactly what is going on, the film leaves plenty to the imagination--and that, of course, makes it doubly appalling. What prevents "The Boys of St. Vincent" from sinking into standard issue-of-the-week fare is the way it brings the audience into identification with the victims. As portrayed by Morina and Sebastian Spence, Kevin Reevey comes across as so vulnerable and affecting that empathy with his character is no longer a choice--its a certainty. And that, in the end, is a fundamental aspect of all good storytelling; you know a movie's doing something right when your heart literally breaks for its characters. As if it weren't enough that this riveting three-hour chronicle (which doesn't have a slow or wasted moment from start to finish) does full justice to the vicious long-term ramifications of sexual abuse without ever falling back on stereotypes, "The Boys of St. Vincent" also manages to achieve a stunning lyricism that lingers long after the movie's over. There is little music throughout, except for a mournful Latin hymn that is repeated several times, sometimes accompanied by brief but startling scenes of abuse, sodomy, and other forms of severe mistreatment. The juxtaposition is not even remotely sacrilegious (although the film came under fire for its supposedly anti-Catholic stance), but it is as chilling in its implications as it is resonant. Moments like these, which take a headlong plunge into previously uncharted depths of human sin, are enough to weaken your faith in mankind as a whole. They are also enough to strengthen your faith in what a truly great film can accomplish.
Rating:
Summary: Fearsome
Review: Horror films as such have nothing on the THE BOYS OF ST. VINCENT. Loosely based on the Roman Catholic child molestation scandals as they unfolded in Canada, this 1991 film was first show on Canadian television but later shown theatrically in the United States. Directed by John N. Smith, featuring an extraordinary cast, and boasting an excellent script, the film is one of the most fearsome experiences you could ever endure. The story falls into two parts, first offering a portrait of St. Vincent, a Catholic orphanage for boys, as it existed in the early 1970s; then presenting a portrait of the various characters some fifteen years later as the original accusations of child molestation and abuse result in a high profile court case. The film focuses on a number of characters, but most particularly on Henry Czerny, who begins the film as Brother Lavin of St. Vincent--a truly dangerous pedophile who uses his position to sate his desires while also looking the other way re abuse of children by other Brothers at the orphanage. When the scandal at last breaks around him, it is quickly hushed up by the authorities, and Lavin leaves the church. Some fifteen years later he is a respected businessman, a husband, and the father of two sons when the long-forgotten and covered-up case begins to explode relentlessly in the public eye. The cast is truly amazing here, chief among them Henry Czerny as Lavin, who creates a truly multilayered portrait of a man at once pitful but both vicious and dangerous. Equally amazing are the cast of children and their adult counterparts in the latter half of the film, most particularly Johnny Morina and Sebastian Spence, who play the role of Kevin as a child and an adult respectively. Perhaps the single most impressive accomplishment of the film is the delicate balancing act director Smith achieves, a stance which does not attack the Catholic Church as an institution but which relentlessly exposes the corruption that can exist within it. The film does contain some child nudity, all of it "back shots," and while some may find this in questionable taste it is all carefully filmed and not explotational--and indeed has the effect of further demonstrating the innocence of the children while emphasizing the evil of those who abuse them. Painful as the film it is, I cannot recommend it too strongly. It should be seen by every responsible adult, not simply for the artistry involved in its presentation, but for the warning it offers. A must see. --GFT (Amazon.com Reviewer)--
Rating:
Summary: Fearsome
Review: Horror films as such have nothing on the THE BOYS OF ST. VINCENT. Loosely based on the Roman Catholic child molestation scandals as they unfolded in Canada, this 1991 film was first show on Canadian television but later shown theatrically in the United States. Directed by John N. Smith, featuring an extraordinary cast, and boasting an excellent script, the film is one of the most fearsome experiences you could ever endure. The story falls into two parts, first offering a portrait of St. Vincent, a Catholic orphanage for boys, as it existed in the early 1970s; then presenting a portrait of the various characters some fifteen years later as the original accusations of child molestation and abuse result in a high profile court case. The film focuses on a number of characters, but most particularly on Henry Czerny, who begins the film as Brother Lavin of St. Vincent--a truly dangerous pedophile who uses his position to sate his desires while also looking the other way re abuse of children by other Brothers at the orphanage. When the scandal at last breaks around him, it is quickly hushed up by the authorities, and Lavin leaves the church. Some fifteen years later he is a respected businessman, a husband, and the father of two sons when the long-forgotten and covered-up case begins to explode relentlessly in the public eye. The cast is truly amazing here, chief among them Henry Czerny as Lavin, who creates a truly multilayered portrait of a man at once pitful but both vicious and dangerous. Equally amazing are the cast of children and their adult counterparts in the latter half of the film, most particularly Johnny Morina and Sebastian Spence, who play the role of Kevin as a child and an adult respectively. Perhaps the single most impressive accomplishment of the film is the delicate balancing act director Smith achieves, a stance which does not attack the Catholic Church as an institution but which relentlessly exposes the corruption that can exist within it. The film does contain some child nudity, all of it "back shots," and while some may find this in questionable taste it is all carefully filmed and not explotational--and indeed has the effect of further demonstrating the innocence of the children while emphasizing the evil of those who abuse them. Painful as the film it is, I cannot recommend it too strongly. It should be seen by every responsible adult, not simply for the artistry involved in its presentation, but for the warning it offers. A must see. --GFT (Amazon.com Reviewer)--
Rating:
Summary: The True Catholic Church!!!
Review: I have suggested this movie many times to Christians. I used to be a catholic and was abused not by any priest, but by its theology, resulting in a stay at a mental hospital, alcoholism and depresion. To those of you you who have the courage to see this movie without breaking out into tears or going out and busting a priest in the chops, I take my hat off to you. The Sexual abuse scenes are very scary and were shot suggestively which leads the imagination to tell the tale. I will not give away the ending but just to say that it was/is just deserts! Occult Magus
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