Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Lambert - An Actor, May 8, 2002
I sincerely never thought much of C. Lambert. For me he was a great Highlander and never would he be nothing more. Then one day I watched To Kill a Priest, mainly because I highly respect Harris' acting abilities. The movie raised some strong emotions within me and seriously I am not one of those crying when watching movies. I am not one of those that went for Titanic and never was I moved by Holywood's sad tales. This one did move me though and perhaps I am being over-emotional with my 4-star rating but I believe that it is highly deserved. If this movie will not make you think of Lambert as an actor, nothing will.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
To Kill A Priest--review, November 27, 1999
The movie is based on the murder of a Polish dissident Catholic priest two decades ago as the Poles formed Solidarnosz in protest against the communist gevernment. The film is gritty and spare,mirroring the country at the time. Christopher Lambert is wonderfully believable as the priest who would do anything to help his countrymen while putting aside his own feelings of love,despair,fear,insecurity,and rage. His arch rival is a demented psychotic who is torn between his own deep religious feelings and the need for power and control by killing and destruction. The backdrop of schizophrenic Eastern Europe's political conflict,accurately portrayed on the streets,in the homes,and in the churches,add to the tense richness of this film. One of Lambert's better films,this is a must see for those who bask in a country where religious and political freedom is taken for granted. Lambert's Father Alex reminds us that it has not been so long ago that a man could be tortured and killed for his beliefs,and it could happen in this country if we yawn and ignore the strident voices of the religious right wing holding hands with the political right.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
to kill resistence, May 6, 2007
TO KILL A PRIEST (1988)
directed by Agnieszka Holland
approx. 2 hours
This movie is about the Polish "Solidarity" movement - a labor movement that the Communist state considered to be a domestic threat. This movie accurately shows the central government thugs monitoring, arresting and even killing citizens for the simple act of dissent. This didn't take place in the 1910s or 1940s but as recently as the early 1980s! Its worth pointing out that Solidarity wasn't exclusively a Catholic phenomenon and that it was more like a coalition of non-communist peoples. This movie is based on a real priest named Jerzy Popieluszko who aligned himself with Solidarity against the wishes of his superiors. Poland was in a state of martial law and it was an extremely risky time to criticize the government.
Now on to the movie. The direction is beautiful but the writing drags at parts. However what holds the movie back is the casting. A lot of times this is a problem when making a movie for an American audience about a European setting (for example, some characters in this movie have accents, others don't). Actors Tim Roth and Ed Harris gave great performances but seem a little out of place. Christopher Lambert of "HIGHLANDER" fame plays the priest somewhat comfortably but only a limited range of emotion is shown with his character.
Nevertheless many of the details of the movie are important and included in the dialogue. The movie did not need to be as long as it was, but one interesting thing it shows is how living in a "surveillance state" affects the families of government operatives. You can see a wife who fears that her husband will be murdered because she believes propaganda that Solidarity is a terrorist group. You also see a lonely son who is untrusted by his peers because his father works against religion. Finally, this movie is worth seeing as it details the last gasp of a Soviet satellite struggling to crush public opposition.
Polish director Agnieszka Holland is perhaps best known in the US for her movie adaptation of the book 'THE SECRET GARDEN'.
To the best of my knowledge, this movie has never been released on DVD format!
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