Priest

Rating:
Summary: Shows the TRUE meaning of Christianity
Review: Jesus taught us forgiveness and understanding, and he said, "Above all else, love each other" - meaning to respect each other and not judge. IF the Catholic church is truly about spreading the teachings of Christ, then they should endorse this film, because the final scene evokes the true meaning of the teachings of Christ better than any I have ever seen. It was a deeply moving film because of it's honesty, and because that even the "hero" has flaws he must confront. When I watch films, I look very closely for any flaws in script, or characters, or dialogue, or direction. Many people will talk about how great a certain film is, and I will point out that it was good EXCEPT for this flaw and that flaw, and they are things that my friends never noticed or just ignored. I found no such flaws in this film, it was perfection from beginning to end.

Rating:
Summary: Powerful performances
Review: Linus Roache's performance is outstanding - his expression of emotion so real and intense that the viewer can feel the confusion, conflict, and pain as his character confronts the eternal problem of faith versus personal practise of what one believes. His character, who, unlike many clergy depicted in controversial films, obviously is a true believer in both his religion and his vocation, struggles with integrating his convictions with his life overall. For example, one wonders why he is shocked by and extremely condemning of his pastor's concubinage, preaching at Matthew about how priests must set an impeccable moral example, when he himself is an active homosexual.

This film is good, not outstanding. Its being very controversial when it was issued, and its addressing delicate topics such as paedophilia, incest, and whether the seal of confession was charity or foolishness, caused it to be overrated. The underlying theme (integrating how one lives with what one believes) is clear, but the plot development is poor. Several characters (the previous pastor, the condemning monk, the heartless bishop) are caricatures, their own problems and deficiencies unclear because they are presented in such an exaggerated fashion.

Rating:
Summary: Good Church setting, lousy plot
Review: "Priest" (SPOILERS AHEAD) was about a young idealistic priest who could not ignore his own sexual needs or his inner conflicts over the demands of his position. It was most successful in showing the interactions within a small poor urban Catholic community. The way the congregants reacted to things mirrored what I had seen in protestant congregations as a child, and helped me to understand more about how the modern Catholic church operates. The young priest, who had a homosexual lover and was caught by the police on a morals charge, seemed a little too dense at times. I got tired of his deer-in-the-headlights behavior, and could not believe that consensual sex between two men would generate a 40-point headline in a local tabloid. I gave it an A for the church story and a D for plot development.

Rating:
Summary: linus roache knocks the ball out of the park!
Review: in this gritty depiction of catholicism, linus roache shows he has earned his spurs from his talent versus resting on the laurels of his famous father. the movie covers three conflicts with traditional catholic values: celibacy, whereby ordained ministers are expected to forego sex; homosexuality, which is totally off limits; and the secrets of the confessional, when everything told to the priest is to held in strict confidence.

roache and tom wilkerson (of masterpiece theater fame) are the clerics trying to handle these issues in a morally opaque environment. not for those who can not face dealing with these issues, but an excellent movie for those who like to be challenged during their entertainment.

Rating:
Summary: Boring, pretentious, bigoted
Review: Spare us from such trite, self-absorbed movie-making

Rating:
Summary: Right On The Money
Review: As a Catholic involved with ministry at the parish level for 15 years now, I can honestly say that this excellent little film captures the debilitating, guilt-laden, shame-based, destructive consequences of the Roman institution and its priests. Though not all priests break their vows, believe me...many do-- both heterosexually and, especially, homosexually.Linus Roache portrays one such man caught in the crossfire between his very real sex drive and his very real desire to serve God. Director Antonia Bird does a good job of revealing Rome's celibacy law as the outdated, damaging, psychologically sick imposition that it is. At the same time, she does not glorify her priest's decision to break his vows, and reveals that his illicit act has consequences.Robert Carlyle is great as the little boyfriend...a real change from his later Trainspotting and Full Monty roles. The film's subplot about family incest is another opportunity for Bird to highlight the Catholic Church's long and well-documented history of denial, cover-up, and silence in the face of a male-oriented need to oppress.In every parish in which I have been involved in ministry, I have witnessed plenty of priests whose policy is to keep silent about anything that could be damaging to the Church or to one of its prominent members.This seems to be a disease among Roman priests...silence; the film captures that atmosphere of self-serving denial. It would be useless for most Catholics to watch this film...they would fail to understand its significance; let's face it,those who wander blindly among the pews, rosaries in hand, would react with hatred and chagrin. However, the film is heartbreakingly accurate and should be seen by anyone with active intelligence. Only with the help of films like this can people begin to throw out the evil, diseased structures that have been gripping the Catholic faith for centuries. Lastly, if Antonia Bird directed this film based upon her own personal experience of Catholicism, then BRAVO! Personal experiences happen to be REAL.

Rating:
Summary: This Emperor Has No Clothes
Review: I find it fairly sad that most people are able to view this movie as an insightful examination of the Catholic Church and it's rules rather than a fairly mean spirited attack by some people whose view of the church has probably been shaped by either the Tabloids or personal experience. Either way, as a drama, this film is full of cliché's, and fails to give the characters a consistent nature, for example: When Linus Roach's character hears the confession of the young girl who says her father is molesting her, he is not allowed to tell anyone of her problem. Why? It's against the church law. It is also against the church law to have sex after becoming a priest, but he sees no harm in doing that because other priests are doing it. When the father of the young girl comes into the confessional and tells him that he molests his daughter and will keep right on doing it, the priest doesn't tell. Why? Because whoever wrote the screenplay either forgot about the rules of confession or knows only what they saw in I, Confess. The father did not repent for his sins and ask for forgiveness, on the contrary, he said he enjoyed what he did and said he would do it again. He didn't confess, he bragged. And the priest cannot tell of a sin that a person confesses, but if the person says they are not sorry and will continue to commit the act, the priest is in no way bound to not tell anyone. It is his duty as a priest and human being to report this to the authorities. And even if he couldn't tell anyone, the same law applies for doctors and lawyers, I certainly don't see them being crucified for that. Any problems that the priest has with his vows and the church are his vows. He made them; no one forced him, so he obviously knew what would be expected of him. I certainly don't think a movie would look this sympathetically on a married man who decides he can longer stand the idea of only sleeping with one woman for the rest of his life and proceeds to have affairs outside of the marriage. And then complains to her that it's not fair she prohibit him from sleeping around because it's in his nature to do so. A lot of critics praised this movie, and save their own prejudices as the reason, I cannot understand why. The movie has some terrific acting, rising it above one star level. But if you're looking for a movie that asks real questions about the church and the lives of the priests in a fresh and original way, you'll have to look elsewhere. But if you don't like Catholics, this movie will probably reinforce

Rating:
Summary: Great movie
Review: This is one of the best movies about homosexuality that I have ever seen. Really emotional. So much better then the hollywood drag queen movies, because this shows viewers another side of "Gay Life". One of my all time favourites. I have seen it only on Laserdisc, so I can not comment on the quality of the DVD version.

Rating:
Summary: Something To Make You Think...
Review: One who see's this, might consider the pain that the persons here are going through. The film presents issues that can happen to anyone and in any religion.

Homosexuality, Sexual Abuse, Incest... these are real issues and while many people tend not to want to think or deal with these kinds of things they exist. This movie is about one man's dealings with it; as well as the people he interacts with.

Rating:
Summary: heretical but holy
Review: I feel those who condemn this film as anti-catholic are actually missing the point. The film is heretical not blasphamous. Not once does it question the existence of God or the importance of the Priesthood. Instead it is about the heavy burden placed on the shoulders of those who serve the church. Priests who are sent out into the real world but expected to behave like Monks living in a closed order. The criticism is of a church imposing celibacy on Priests as if sex is a distraction to faith. What the film tries to portray is that the opposite is true. Good Priests whose whole energy is directed towards remaining celibate. Jimmy McGovern is himself a practising Catholic and to just dismiss his work as an attack on religion is ridiculous. I actually found the film strangely religious. The scene of Father Greg ranting at the crucifix at the same time the abusive Father was discovered was like a moment of divine intervention.