This post first appeared in 2007. I am reposting it with some changes because the entire full length movie is now available on YouTube in 12 parts with English subtitles. The first two parts are available at the bottom of the post to get you started. It is well worth your time.
I've been a movie fan since I was a little snot nosed kid. There was always something about the silver screen that was bigger than life. Back then, movies were not inundated with cheap violence and sex. They made us laugh, they made us cheer, sometimes we cried. They gave us a peek at ourselves or a vision of who we wanted to be. I remember seeing my first movie in a real theater. It was an afternoon matinee of Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein in black and white, preceded by a Tom & Jerry cartoon. My cousin Harilaos and it seemed like every other kid from Greektown were at the Mutual movie theater on Main Street in Saco, Maine that afternoon long ago. We ate popcorn and consumed candy bars like there was no tomorrow and we laughed so hard we almost peed in our pants.
I don't make it over to the movie theater much these days. Usually we will watch a movie by ourselves or sometimes with friends. All of us have seen a movie or two whose impact is powerful, one that lasts for days or even years. "Ostrov" is just such an experience. Those who watch it will be blessed with a rare opportunity to watch a spiritually uplifting and spiritually challenging film that is both starkly beautiful and contains a powerful message. This film was not produced in or by Hollywood simply because I don't really think there is anyone in Hollywood capable of understanding the Orthodox mindset or world view nor of really tackling the underlying problems that we face as a society.
"Ostrov" or "The Island" written by Dmitri Sobolev, begins on a dark night in 1942, when a Russian barge hauling much needed coal, piloted by young captain Tikhon (Aleksei Zelenski) is captured by a German patrol boat. Tikhon and his one man crew Anatoly (Timofei Tribuntzev) attempt to hide in the mounds of coal. Anatoly is discovered and after a beating he betrays Tikhon's location. Anatoly begs for his life while his comrade calmly waits to be executed while smoking a cigarette. The Nazi commander suddenly passes a gun to his quailing mate, Anatoly and orders him to do the deed, in exchange for his life. Hysterical with fear, Anatoly pulls the trigger and Tikhon tumbles into the frigid water. The Germans leave after they place an explosive charge on the boat and unknowingly Anatoly cheers ecstatically. Suddenly there is a loud explosion and as the sun rises the next day Anatoly is washed up on the beach and rescued by monks from a nearby monastery situated on an isolated island.
The action then flashes forward to 1976. In a small seaside monastery, Anatoly (Mamonov) is now a balding old man. He wears tattered clothing and his face is blackened, covered with soot. He works tirelessly stoking the monastery's boiler with the coal from the wreck of his sunken barge while he lives like a hermit in an outlying cabin. He has spent his life trying to expiate his guilt and atone for the crime of killing his captain, but his soul can find no peace. Though his fellow monks avoid the eccentric fellow, he has earned a reputation among the local population as a Holy Man capable of healing and predicting the future. Anatoly's help, however, carries a heavy price. He demands that the beneficiary -- in one case, a unwed pregnant girl; in another, a mother whose son can't walk -- sacrifice all their worldly goals to God's will.
Anatoly is an example of a peculiar form of Orthodox asceticism. The Russian version called, the yurodivy is a Holy Fool or Fool for Christ, one who acts intentionally foolish in the eyes of men for the sake of Christ. Part of the biblical basis is 1 Corinthians 3:18-19 "Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness." The following excerpt explains the whole concept much better than I ever could: "The fool-for-Christ sets for himself the task of battling within himself the root of all sin, pride. In order to accomplish this he took on an unusual style of life, appearing as someone bereft of his mental faculties, thus bringing upon himself the ridicule of others. In addition he exposed the evil in the world through metaphorical and symbolic words and actions. He took this ascetic endeavor upon himself in order to humble himself and to also more effectively influence others, since most people respond to the usual ordinary sermon with indifference. The spiritual feat of foolishness for Christ was especially widespread in Russia. (Excerpted from The Law of God, Holy Trinity Monastery, Jordanville, NY: 1993) The Russian Orthodox Church numbers 36 yurodivye among its saints, most prominently Basil, Fool for Christ, who gives his name to Saint Basil's Cathedral in Moscow.The most well-known modern example in the Russian Church is perhaps St. Xenia of St. Petersburg.
"The Island" comes at a critical juncture in Russian history when Russians are trying to forge a distinctly Russian solution to the failures of both Communism, Perestroika and now the Post-Communist era. Ultimately the film asks the favorite Russian question: Who is guilty? And to that, it adds another: How can we be redeemed? The Island has struck a chord among Russians. It has been a box office smash in Russia and garnered numerous awards both in and outside Russia. Even the Russian Orthodox Church has given its blessing. Director Pavel Lungin was surprised that the church accepted his film. "I thought they would have problems with something, at least in the details." Instead, some bishops organized events around the film and advertised it in their churches. Lungin said he believes in God but does not follow any structured religion. "The material world hasn't given us any answers to our questions," he said. "People feel lost in a spiritual way. . . . There are these feelings of guilt and sin and at the same time an idea that people can be redeemed."
"The Island" is an extraordinary film. It is about human weakness, hypocrisy, repentance, and the possibility of redemption inherent in every one of us. Above all, it is about the importance of putting faith and our personal relationship with God at the center of our lives.
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