MAN OF GOD (Cert. 12A) is likely to inspire viewers by the holiness of its subject, St Nektarios (1846-1920). It could also confirm people’s worst suspicions about organised religion.
The film starts in 1890, by which time Nektarios was a Greek Orthodox bishop in Egypt. He had previously been a teacher, then a monk, eventually getting ordained. An opening scene illustrates his constant attention to writing about faith, swiftly followed by his putting it into action on streets full of desperate people.
The man’s character established, there is a rapid shift to hierarchical figures who are plotting his downfall. Because he is popular among the laity, envious superiors fear that he will be the ailing Patriarch’s successor. His unbridled generosity would bankrupt the Church, they argue. Their trumped-up charges of theft provide him with no opportunity to defend himself.
He rapidly falls into extreme poverty. Asking to sit next to a beggar, Nektarios hands over his shoes. “I’ve been blessed lately”, he says, “to participate in your suffering, my brother.” Just at that moment, some unheeding Orthodox clergy pass by on the other side. The Greek actor Aris Servetalis plays the saint with a quiet dignity that avoids turning the film into overblown hagiography. The cinematographer’s muted colour design well matches the subtlety of the portrayal.
Slanderous accusations follow Nektarios, even on returning to Greece, thus hampering pursuit of his vocation. When he is eventually appointed head of Rizarios Ecclesiastical School, Athens, his disciplinary methods are questioned. A group of abusive ordinands badly fall out. Nektarios decrees that there must be punishment. He sentences himself to three days without food, taking on the sins of the guilty parties.
Having again been passed over as Patriarch, he responds to a group of women wishing to become nuns. Together, they found a monastery on the island of Aegina, in what was to become the rest of his life’s work. Again, this is not without fierce and violent opposition from some, though not all, church leaders. Kostas (Alexander Petrov), loyal assistant to this man of God, wonders why he doesn’t renounce Christianity. “Woe is me”, comes the reply, “if my faith depends on men.” If anything, we could have done with more fleshing out of these ecclesiastical villains and why they behave as they do.
Several of those involved with this production have publicly declared their Christian convictions — so much so that the film could run the danger of being seen as little more than propaganda. Mickey Rourke as a paralysed man has, in an interview, made clear his Roman Catholic credentials, and that his heartfelt performance derives from God’s good grace.
The ethereal soundtrack is composed by Zbigniew Preisner, who has scored many of Krzysztof Kieslowski’s spiritually inclined films (Dekalog, the Three Colours trilogy, etc.).
Man of God is directed by the actress and producer Yelena Popovic, for whom faith, she says, is pivotal. There is much to applaud in this picture. Catch it if you can. It will need word-of-mouth to reach a wider audience.
In selected cinemas from 9 to 11 September.