***Possible Spoiler to Follow*** * * *
Detractors of biographical films would say that it is impossible to conceptualise anyone's life after they've died. To a certain extent, that's true; the (in)famous entity can't give directions on how an actor portrays them, nor can they cringe at the (often) abysmal result. The positive side of the 'dead-don't-lie' theory is that you often get a better picture of what a person was really like, "...to see ourselves..."
Father Alek (Christophe Lambert) is the celluloid incarnation of Polish priest Jerzy Popieluszko, one of many martyrs to the cause of Solidarity. Struggling with the growth of the Solidarity movement in Poland, the military enforced martial law in 1981, but failed to realise that a backlash from the predominantly Catholic populace would inevitably de-stabilise their goals.
Stefan (Ed Harris) is a member of the secret police, given the job of keeping an eye on Father Alek, a popular young priest who incites his flock to stand up against their military oppressors. Stefan's private life is a mess, with a wife who is cold towards him and a son who finds his father's job destroying his own young world. His immediate supervisor, the Colonel (Joss Ackland), fails to provide Stefan with the guidance he needs and his personal hell is transferred to his underlings as the three of them kidnap and murder Father Alek. By eliminating the priest, Stefan attempts to smooth his own life out, but instead discovers that the Colonel has brokered a treaty with the Church, where both parties are secretly glad to see Father Alek removed, without having blood on their hands.
The interaction between Ackland and Harris is often tense and tangible. The same cannot be said for Lambert's character, which is ruined by over-direction from Agnieszka Holland, the inevitable anti-communist semantics and the 'hollywood' treatment via a love interest. Even Lambert's usual wit (no matter what the character) is muted. The murder sequence is overdone and I can't take Timothy Spall seriously unless he is playing a philosophising brickie opposite Jimmy Nail.
The highlights of the film are Joan Baez singing 'The Crimes of Cain', the Colonel realising he has been compromised and the opening boys-in-a-bus sequence. Despite a good international supporting cast, a better story could have been told in half the time.
Detractors of biographical films would say that it is impossible to conceptualise anyone's life after they've died. To a certain extent, that's true; the (in)famous entity can't give directions on how an actor portrays them, nor can they cringe at the (often) abysmal result. The positive side of the 'dead-don't-lie' theory is that you often get a better picture of what a person was really like, "...to see ourselves..."
Father Alek (Christophe Lambert) is the celluloid incarnation of Polish priest Jerzy Popieluszko, one of many martyrs to the cause of Solidarity. Struggling with the growth of the Solidarity movement in Poland, the military enforced martial law in 1981, but failed to realise that a backlash from the predominantly Catholic populace would inevitably de-stabilise their goals.
Stefan (Ed Harris) is a member of the secret police, given the job of keeping an eye on Father Alek, a popular young priest who incites his flock to stand up against their military oppressors. Stefan's private life is a mess, with a wife who is cold towards him and a son who finds his father's job destroying his own young world. His immediate supervisor, the Colonel (Joss Ackland), fails to provide Stefan with the guidance he needs and his personal hell is transferred to his underlings as the three of them kidnap and murder Father Alek. By eliminating the priest, Stefan attempts to smooth his own life out, but instead discovers that the Colonel has brokered a treaty with the Church, where both parties are secretly glad to see Father Alek removed, without having blood on their hands.
The interaction between Ackland and Harris is often tense and tangible. The same cannot be said for Lambert's character, which is ruined by over-direction from Agnieszka Holland, the inevitable anti-communist semantics and the 'hollywood' treatment via a love interest. Even Lambert's usual wit (no matter what the character) is muted. The murder sequence is overdone and I can't take Timothy Spall seriously unless he is playing a philosophising brickie opposite Jimmy Nail.
The highlights of the film are Joan Baez singing 'The Crimes of Cain', the Colonel realising he has been compromised and the opening boys-in-a-bus sequence. Despite a good international supporting cast, a better story could have been told in half the time.