Baylor University Faith and Film Conference, Oct 23-25. Ill be there, presenting the 2006 Russian film Ostrov (The Island) with Philip Jenkins. I dont speak Russian, and can use some help. Heres a passel of random questions: Is Fr. Anatoly a monk? Not a priest, though? Is he just a lay brother or novice? They call him Father Anatoly, not Monk Anatoly. I ask bec. toward the end the abbot says he is thinking of tonsuring him. But I read somewhere that in Russian the abbot actually says tonsure you to the Great Schema. ? When Fr A meets Tikhon Petrovich toward the end, after Tikhons daughter is delivered from a demon, Fr Anatoly says to him something about confession. I think the subtitle reads Do you want confession? but I read somewhere that in Russian he says Do you want to hear confession?, asking Tikhon if he will listen to what Fr Anatoly needs to confess. What a great opening scene, btw! Feels like Hitchcock. The Nazi clearly says where is your capitaine? but the subtitle says where is your cap? Just a mistake? Or is this a Gernan word that would be misunderstood in Russian? Western viewers heard that the lead actor, Pyotr Mamonov, used to be a rock star but had a deep conversion. Can you tell me any more about that? Did he dramatically renounce fame, or anything like that? I did read that he was reluctant to take the part, until his priest told him to do it. And I read his award acceptance speech. I was able to watch most of the film with a Russian monk a few weeks ago. He laughed when the abbot first appeared on screen, saying that this is a very famous actor and you would *never* expect to see him looking like that--shaggy and mild with a big beard. Any further comments on Viktor Sukhorokov? Such a gentle voice. I read somewhere that the main actors were usually employed to portray criminals, so seeing them as monks gave an extra twist for Russian audiences. ? The scene where the monks are holding a service and Fr A is praying toward the wrong wall. My monk friend laughed at how inaccurate that scene was; he said a service in a monastery would *never* look like that. I think what he meant was that it was sloppy and badly sung, and monastery worship is usually more disciplined and strives for beauty (which has sure been my experience). I didnt get a chance to ask him about this afterward. Do you think that is true, that the scene is laughably unlike what a real monastery service would be like? In the West, Orthodox really embraced this movie. But were there any objections to it? I read somewhere that the church that was built for the film is now a real church. Fr Job lists things that Fr A does wrong. He says, He doesnt come to worship, but exposes... and breaks off, at least acc to the subtitles. What is he saying? My monk friend told me that the big bell in the tower is not for calling people to worship, but to sound an alarm in case of fire. Toward the end Fr A says to the abbot, My whole life I avoided the Law. I am guessing it should be something more like tried to escape justice. The Law capitalized usually means the Old Testament Law, in a Christian context. I dont think thats what theyre saying here, but need to ask others who speak Russian. Personally I think Fr A is too hard on Fr Job. He never encourages him, even at the end. Am I missing something? Anything else youd like to say!
Posted on: Sat, 30 Aug 2014 14:07:46 +0000
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