Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Touches You

Fresh and Exciting

What a freaking movie. So many twists and turns. Absolutely intense from start to finish.

The 2006 film OSTROV (The Island) is a story of religious faith in the bleak Russian north. As the film opens, it is 1942 and the young Russian sailor Anatoly is forced by the Germans to shoot his captain Tikhon. Left for dead, Anatoly washes up on the shore of an island where a monastery is located. He spends the next three decades among the monks trying to atone for the killing of his friend and shipmate. Eventually, though he considers himself the lowest of the low, Anatoly is granted clairvoyance and the ability to work miracles. A steady stream of visitors comes to the island to seek his help.But Anatoly is a certain kind of saint specific to the Russian tradition, the holy fool. He does things that make no sense to his fellow monks, to the point they think he's insane, but eventually everything he does is revealed to communicate some key spiritual point. Between ministering to the outsiders who visit him and dealing with his exasperated brethren, Anatoly gets no rest.The film is beautiful in a way. The plot is engaging enough, and for audiences outside Russia (as well as many Russians who grew up under Communism) this is an informative presentation of the realities of Orthodox monastic life. The makeup effects are excellent -- Pyotr Mamonov doesn't look this decrepit in real-life, but on the screen he really is convincing as a starets who has spent decades in an unforgiving environment.Nonetheless, I found OSTROV rather too heavy-handed, seeming at best sappy and at worst outright propaganda for a certain kind of contemporary Russian Orthodoxy that doesn't represent the faith entirely well. When one thinks of Russian Orthodoxy in cinema, one is tempted to draw comparisons with Andrei Tarkovsky, but even when Tarkovsky wasn't directly using Orthodox themes, he still communicated Christian truths more powerfully than anything in this film (think of the climax of Tarkovsky's STALKER or the ending of OFFRET).All in all, OSTROV is entertaining but not terribly deep.

Somehow, Father Anatoly, (born again Christian ex rock star Pyotr Mamanov) a rather unorthodox Orthodox monk who lives on the titular Russian Baltic island, is very much his own island.Anti-social, dirty, and a prankster that both annoys and causes discomfort to his fellow monks, Anatoly is a troubled old man who is harbouring a soul-destroying act that he was forced to commit, over forty years previous.Strangely, this unkempt and rather obnoxious figure seems to hold healing powers that his superiors do not understand or particularly approve of. A string of characters visit the almost impossible to reach monastery and they target Father Anatoly, who is dressed in rags and not in the Orthodox robes of the others.This film reminded me so much of the excellent south Korean film 'Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter....Spring', which in some ways is unfortunate for The Island as I am comparing it against the former. That's why I'm awarding 7, not 8/10. Whilst hauntingly beautiful throughout, with its poetically arctic landscapes, it lacks the subtlety and ultimate tenderness that would really make it special. The comical moments are just a little clumsy and some of the miraculous undertakings a little beyond credibility.Spiritually, the ending is glorious and special, with the silent soundtrack before rousing to a joyous climax.I rented this DVD from my local library, showing how diverse and useful their collections can be. Try them!

This is an Orthodox movie in its core, and it might not appeal to people of different religious backgrounds. Orthodox church is not a church of comfortable and simple, but ridiculous answers. Its path is hard and full of obstacles, and the fight for salvation, is life long. Of course, this is completely opposite to evangelical, easy fix theology that calms the minds of the naive folk. This movie is not an advert for converting to the Orthodox faith. How could it be? All three monks that we see in this movie are struggling to understand their spiritual journey.Being religious is a tough gift, not for the faint of heart.

First, I must say I am an orthodox man.The "Ostrov" movie it is not an political movie and not necessarily related to the current situation from Russia today (although it may help its spiritually lost people).It is a movie full of religious advises and it illustrates the portrait of a saint, even compared with the orthodox priests. Father Anatoly could be seen as an ideal to reach in spiritual life. And this is valid for all Christian mankind ! Of course, this not means that all of as should follow this ascetic way in life but, as the main character says before he dies, try to make less sins in life. And this way our world would be a much better place !