Institute History
Description
Anatoly, a stoker on a Russian barge during World War II, is captured by Germans, forced to shoot his own captain, and left for dead. Rescued by monks from a nearby monastery, he still lives among them 30 years later. Now a gaunt, bearded hermit living a penitent life, he stokes the monastery's boiler and compulsively revisits the scene of his wartime crime, desperate for God's forgiveness. His antics annoy the other monks, but the local people believe he has holy powers of healing and foresight. But with the arrival of a man and his daughter, Anatoly's soul may finally find peace.
Pavel Lounguine's film is mesmerizing. The extreme isolation of these islands, surrounded by the icy White Sea, allows him to dispense with anything extraneous to an existential meditation on faith and salvation.
Played beautifully by Russian rock star Pyotr Mamonov, Anatoly is a deeply moving character. His devotion is beyond question, but his sanity is not. A pariah to the more pious monks, he acts the lunatic and delights in pranks and mocking ritual. And yet only Anatoly embraces asceticism, while others forego neither comforts nor possessions. Is it possible that God would work through this ornery recluse? Of course, Lounguine's concern exceeds our hermit's conscience. The Island is a heartfelt contemplation of Russian society's soul, flung into an era of corrupting materialism.