Greg Hall’s Communion is cloaked in the genre of Revenge-Thriller, but the film’s underbelly seethes of something far more insidious that, if unleashed, may lead to that brink of no return.
Father Joe Clemence is a priest in a small community. One morning, while delivering his sermon to a very sparse congregation, he gets lost in his own words and suffers a profound deficit of faith. With his final utterance, a single tear falls upon his bible— at which point he sheds his liturgical garments and walks out of the church. Shortly thereafter he sets out on a journey of violent self-discovery. Father Joe’s traveling companion is Maria, a troubled young woman that he picks up along the way.
Communion is a truly excellent movie in every conceivable way. It’s beautifully shot, magnificently enacted and has a musical score that simultaneously leads us on the path of understanding, only to veer us further off course.
Primarily a straight narrative, Communion does, on occasion, devolve into disturbing flashbacks and camouflaged imagery. Hall also explores the essence of language for a brief interlude, where he uses animated text when Maria is telling a personal story. The text should not by any means distract from the story, if you understand how the filmmaker’s mind is working. However, if your eyes do leave the screen for a brief second during this particular scene, you may experience confusion and annoyance at this juncture.
What’s particularly significant is the way Hall is able to get into our psyches via the vehicle of his two lead characters. And like any great filmmaker, he causes us to question not only what a belief in God really means, but also what is tangible in this world of our own making.
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