The numerous accolades and awards that have recognized Penitent as an extraordinary movie ought to arouse the curiosity of the crowd to view this phenomenal production. But if the crowds do come, and I hope they do, they may find themselves transformed.
This is a movie about war with no heroes. It has victims and perpetrators, participants and survivors, but no heroes. Usually, the brutal reality of war can be hidden by some individual's selfless sacrifice for the greater good. But in Penitent we encounter war's trapped victims and coldly determined perpetrators, unwilling participants and damaged survivors, but no heroes - which makes Penitent a rarity - an honest story about war, an account in which the viewer unwittingly is drawn in as an uncomfortable witness.
Be prepared for the unrelentingly muddled timeline of a ragged, violent tale revealed through intrusive flashbacks, ghostly apparitions hungering for validation, and a character whose emotional detachment paralyzes him in pain that consumes him. Wander with him as he struggles to find that which he no longer believes he deserves - a spark of compassion and love - that is revealed to him through what he hates most - violence and cruelty.
Penitent tells a strange story, but that is war. If one survives, then life is a constant tumult of being turned inside out and upside down, over and over again, with no end other than death, unless one grasps that brief glimmer of hope, an unexpected spark, before it disappears, perhaps forever. Will there be a terrifying bridge to the future, a serendipitous challenge offering wisdom and a hope for love, the forbidden fruit of war?
There are no heroes, but perhaps a helper along the way and an understanding love may ease the pain. And it would not hurt to have a witness to this strange, yet ever confusing, story of war, a reality that ends in mystery but grounded in deep hope.
As for me, I know where I yearn to be. I want to be on that bridge.
This is a movie about war with no heroes. It has victims and perpetrators, participants and survivors, but no heroes. Usually, the brutal reality of war can be hidden by some individual's selfless sacrifice for the greater good. But in Penitent we encounter war's trapped victims and coldly determined perpetrators, unwilling participants and damaged survivors, but no heroes - which makes Penitent a rarity - an honest story about war, an account in which the viewer unwittingly is drawn in as an uncomfortable witness.
Be prepared for the unrelentingly muddled timeline of a ragged, violent tale revealed through intrusive flashbacks, ghostly apparitions hungering for validation, and a character whose emotional detachment paralyzes him in pain that consumes him. Wander with him as he struggles to find that which he no longer believes he deserves - a spark of compassion and love - that is revealed to him through what he hates most - violence and cruelty.
Penitent tells a strange story, but that is war. If one survives, then life is a constant tumult of being turned inside out and upside down, over and over again, with no end other than death, unless one grasps that brief glimmer of hope, an unexpected spark, before it disappears, perhaps forever. Will there be a terrifying bridge to the future, a serendipitous challenge offering wisdom and a hope for love, the forbidden fruit of war?
There are no heroes, but perhaps a helper along the way and an understanding love may ease the pain. And it would not hurt to have a witness to this strange, yet ever confusing, story of war, a reality that ends in mystery but grounded in deep hope.
As for me, I know where I yearn to be. I want to be on that bridge.