The Konevsky Monastery, founded in 1393, is a Russian Orthodox monastery in Konevets Island, five kilometers off the western shore of Lake Ladoga. The island, in Russian hands for centuries was claimed and occupied by the newly independent Finland in 1917. The monks were not molested but the Finns fortified the island with gun emplacements and some buildings were expropriated for military use.
The action begins in 1924, after Lenin's death. Finnish-Soviet relations are tense; in particular the Bolsheviks are aware that well placed guns in the Karelian Isthmus could close the sea access to Leningrad. Konovets island is particularly provocative: beside its militarization, it grants shelter to fugitives and deserters from the USSR. Maxim Proshin, a young officer of the Cheka (Soviet secret services) has shown his zeal in ways that make even his subordinates pause. He is given an assignment (a high profile assassination) in the island under a false identity, but as a preliminary he must kill a guide of deserters, which happens to be a child. He then undergoes a deep transformation that religious people would call redemption.
The movie ends a few months before the conclusion of the Second Soviet-Finnish War on September 1944, when the monks are evacuated to Finland proper and the island reverts to the USSR. The Russian title is translated to Angel's Aisle (?). However, it also means Angel's Chapel, which is probably the meaning here. There are connections (the island setting and the theme of repentance) with Pavel Lungin's The Island (2006) although the closest reference point is perhaps Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment. As to the movie itself: first rate acting, script that sustains the viewer's attention, fluid direction and cinematography capturing the melancholic landscapes of the north and the somber interiors. A quality film.
The action begins in 1924, after Lenin's death. Finnish-Soviet relations are tense; in particular the Bolsheviks are aware that well placed guns in the Karelian Isthmus could close the sea access to Leningrad. Konovets island is particularly provocative: beside its militarization, it grants shelter to fugitives and deserters from the USSR. Maxim Proshin, a young officer of the Cheka (Soviet secret services) has shown his zeal in ways that make even his subordinates pause. He is given an assignment (a high profile assassination) in the island under a false identity, but as a preliminary he must kill a guide of deserters, which happens to be a child. He then undergoes a deep transformation that religious people would call redemption.
The movie ends a few months before the conclusion of the Second Soviet-Finnish War on September 1944, when the monks are evacuated to Finland proper and the island reverts to the USSR. The Russian title is translated to Angel's Aisle (?). However, it also means Angel's Chapel, which is probably the meaning here. There are connections (the island setting and the theme of repentance) with Pavel Lungin's The Island (2006) although the closest reference point is perhaps Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment. As to the movie itself: first rate acting, script that sustains the viewer's attention, fluid direction and cinematography capturing the melancholic landscapes of the north and the somber interiors. A quality film.
