Back in 2009, controversy erupted in Serbia. After a few leaked videos, showing recovering drug addicts being beaten in a church-operated rehabilitation centre, the unorthodox methods of the Orthodox priest Branislav Peranović came to light. The centre concerned, on the grounds of the Crna Reka monastery, was closed, but Peranović continued his work by founding another rehab clinic on the premises of another monastery. Only after one of his patients was killed by a severe beating at his hands in 2012 was Peranović arrested and stripped of his priesthood. Finally, this spring, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison, although this punishment is not yet final.

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After making a name for himself with several shorts, one documentary and a few high-profile TV series, like Morning Changes Everything (2018) and Operation Sabre (2024), Serbian filmmaker Goran Stanković has made his fiction feature debut, Our Father [+leggi anche:
trailer
scheda film], based on the testimonies of Crna Reka inmates. The film has premiered at the 50th Toronto International Film Festival, in the Discovery section.

We follow the events from the perspective of the newly arrived recovering addict Dejan (Vučić Perović, seen in Mother Mara [+leggi anche:
recensione
scheda film]), from his arrival onwards. A more seasoned inmate nicknamed Mionica (Croatian powerhouse actor Goran Marković) takes on the role of his mentor, and Dejan slowly learns the ropes of the centre. His tasks are to follow the path set out by the self-confident, hypocritical and often violent priest Father Branko (Boris Isaković) and to stay out of the way of his quick-tempered “deputies” Sava (Petar Novaković) and Ratko (Nenad Heraković).

Dejan starts believing in God and Father Branko’s preaching, so he quickly rises up the small community’s ranks. But as a video of him receiving beatings for one of his earlier misdemeanours appears in the media, he is forced to defend the controversial system that is both harming and helping him. With the case under public scrutiny, the question is not whether the situation is going to escalate, but rather when will someone be fatally injured by this unchecked power and violence.

The cinematography by Dragan Vildović, who also shot Stanković’s documentary In the Dark (2014), captures the spartan production design by Zorana Petrov in dark and murky colours that serve the topic well, while the editing by Marko Ferković reinforces the clear three-act structure and keeps the movie easy to follow at a perfectly measured pace for the running time of 90 minutes. The actors are deserving of praise as well, since Boris Isaković plays the villain in a nuanced manner, Vučić Perović matches everyman qualities with star power, and Goran Marković once again shows he is able to dig deep and serve as the troubled emotional centre of the film.

Our Father is a movie with a dense, tense atmosphere thanks to the script by Stanković and his collaborators Ognjen Sviličić, Dejan Prćić and Maja Pelević, which goes beyond exposing a specific affair and extends to the realm of those eternal psychological questions. Stanković’s precise directing also plays a part here: his sense of framing is perfect, as everyday activities are shown in hand-held shots and often in close-up, with the viewers’ attention directed at the actors’ faces, highlighting the secretive ambience, while the violence is pictured in chilling, continuous shots from a distance.

All of this amounts to a film that is equally effective for those who know the true-story context and for those who are about to encounter it for the first time. Our Father is a work that no viewer will be able to shake off easily.

Our Father is a co-production between Serbia, Croatia, Italy, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, staged by This and That Productions in co-production with Nightswim, Pompom Film, Novi Film, Dream Factory and Kino. Split Screen handles the international sales.