macarissa I watched this film via Amazon Prime, drawn to the title and intrigued by the description on a night I wasn't able to sleep. The short description didn't share that the film is in Russian so one needs to be prepared to read the subtitles which requires more frontal lobe activity than I usually like to dedicate when I watch something purely for entertainment. I'm not a big "movie fan", preferring to watch educational programs like documentaries and lectures at more rational hours but I will switch to lighter "entertainment" movies when faced with insomnia. The Island is not a film that was made to simply entertain. Films that are made specifically for entertainment are usually a really easy watch. The good ones make me laugh while others simply bore me back to sleep so they're a much safer choice in the middle of the night than watching a film like this with a heavy religious message or sitting and brooding over all the negativity that's often at the root of one's insomnia. While watching The Island I found I had to keep hitting rewind to re-view the dialogue because I kept getting the feeling I must have missed something. I do agree with most of the remarks made by reviewers which stated the acting, setting, direction and such was very good but say that only relative to the type of film it is. Part of the difficulty in following the story is that the film has very little dialogue so a lot is left to the imagination of the viewer and I felt it left me guessing at what I suppose the filmmaker imagined the viewer should have immediately understood however I noticed quite a few of the reviews I looked over on IMDb mentioned watching it more than once so I don't think I'm alone in that position. Perhaps it would be more appropriate to watch with a group of like minded people in a religious setting rather than for viewers who're looking for home entertainment.

Darya Istomina Great film. It gives me a sense of hope, that God's plan is perfect and in the end, if we seek Him diligently, it will all work out and all the pieces will fall into place. I was wondering why doesn't the protagonist just accept God's forgiveness and lay his burden down. Father Job mentions that too. Just believe that your sin is forgiven and move on. But then I began to see, that Father Anatoly has found favor with God and he is a lot more sensitive to His will than an average person. It was God's perfect will to bring it to this kind of completion. We never hear back from the people who were helped by Father Anatoly. That calls for our faith that things for them worked out the way he said that they will. I can't help but wonder if the widow made it to France, if the boy's leg healed, if the young girl's baby turned out to be a 'golden boy'. What is going to happen to Father Job? He wanted 'to serve people', but complains that it was not given to him. Is he going to step up after Father Anatoly's death? This movie is a kind that stays with you for life. It brings light to the simple truths in deep powerful way.

gradyharp Mesmerizingly beautiful and profoundly moving, this 2006 prize winning Russian film THE ISLAND is gratefully brought to the public by Film Movement. Everything about the film - the screenplay by Dmitri Sobolev, the haunting musical score by Vladimir Martynov, the cinematography by Andrei Zhegalov and the direction by Pavel Lounguine (aka Lungin) - is the epitome of sophistication in cinematic art.The story opens in 1942 in Russia where Nazis come aboard a little Russian craft manned by Tikhon (Aleksei Zelensky) and his mate Anatoly (Timofey Tribuntsev): the Nazi officer threatens Anatoly and in the end has Anatoly shoot Tikhon and the shot Tikhon drops into the cold ocean. Years later somewhere in Northern Russia in a small Russian Orthodox monastery an older Anatoly (Pyotr Mamonov) confuses his fellow monks with his bizarre behavior and his apparent ability to cast out demons, heal, and foretell the future to people who visit the island monastery particularly for Anatoly's gifts. But Anatoly's mind is racked with guilt because he knows he killed his closest friend Tikhon. Father Filaret (Viktor Sukhorukov), the principal monk, falls under Anatoly's spell and because of Anatoly's simple life, Filaret gives up his worldly goods to be more like Anatoly. Father Iov (Dmitriy Dyuzhev) attempts to bring sanity into Anatoly's life, but in the end he is deeply moved by the crazy priest. One of the visitors brings his insane daughter to Anatoly, Anatoly frees her of demons, and the grateful visitor tells Anatoly that he did not indeed kill Tikhon - that he survived and still lives. And it is in this peace that Anatoly allows himself to die.The supporting cast has only brief moments on screen but they are memorable. The focus of the film is the portrayal of Anatoly by Pyotr Mamonov - it is a miracle of acting. This is a film that will haunt the viewer not only because of its message but also because of its beauty. As Santayana said, 'Sanity is a madness put to good uses.' Grady Harp

florinfilipoiu It is a wonderful picture, a masterpiece. It is the first picture where I saw people make orthodox cross. One of any picture who praise Iisus Hristos, the son of God. Here in orthodox world, (only in Romania we have over 1000 monasteries) we are very faithful to Iisus Hristos and this picture is a blessing for our souls. After I had been seen this picture, I believed the actor in prime role is a real monk. I heard Piotr Mamonov played in a rock band (in my opinion rock music is synonym to devil) and in this picture he find the God. Father Anatolie transfigured the irreligious to a faithful person. And the white-black image transform the picture in more veridical story. Maybe only Andrei Rubliov equal this picture. In this picture we will see the difference between the oriental people who believe in Iisus Hristos (who is the head of the orthodox church) and occidental people who does not go to pray the God in church and they will be only a good citizen. I understand the fact Piotr Mamonov after this picture he go to a monastery and suffer a total transformation. I believe (maybe I am wrong) only people (and only the orthodox) who lived in communism understood the real message of this picture: nothing is possible without God and Iisus Hristos and the world is full of sacraments. This sacraments are not possible to resolve by rational and cold minds of thousand academicians.