Sventasis (2016)

	Also Known As: The saint, Der Heilige
	Year of first release: 2016
	Director: Andrius Blazevicius
	Actors: Marius Repsys (Vytas), Indre Patkauskaite (Jurate), Gelmine Glemzaite (Marija), Valentinas Krulikovskis (Petras), Lukas Malinauskas (Der Heilige)
	Country: PL, LT
	Genre: Drama, Comedy
	Conditions of visioning: 05.11.2016, CineStar 3, NFDL2016, Lithuanian with English subtitles
Synopsis: Vytas (Repsys) looses his job and does not find any. He begins to neglect his wife Jurate (Patkauskaite) and daughter and starts looking for work and for a new love. With minimal success. The application process the labour office orders him to do is complicated; so is the job interview. An affair with a hairdresser and a round of drinking with friends does nothing to fill the void. Then a video appears on YouTube in which a man from the neighbourhood claims to have seen Jesus. Vytas goes looking for him. Forcefully and with a touch of humour, “The Saint” illuminates how a lack of career prospects can affect a person’s private life. The large-scale images portray a Lithuania in which the poorer segments of the population are shut out through no fault of their own.
Review: As there are not many movies coming from the Baltic countries and that these are usually very good, I needed to watch this one. The plot sounds a bit boring. And the story telling is indeed often quite plain. But the style reminds me Ken Loach's movies The navigators or It's a free world. The peak of the economical crisis reached Lithuania in years 2009-2010 and the daily life is intended to be related with truth. The director Blazevicius confirmed indeed during the Q&A: "I want that that atmosphere stays written for History." Vytas priorities in life seem to be his body building exercises and to be the one getting the money home. "The man is very Lithuanian.", so Blazevicius. The quest of the Youtube Jesus sounds absurd but initiates the change in the life of Vytas.  All the scenes are for the director typical and have been experienced by friends or by himself. For instance the insight in the culture of pretending for the job interview. "You made a very good impression, and finally I did not get the job.", so Blazevicius.  The camera is very intimate as we are really in appartments, sitting in the kitchen or on the couch. There is no overreaction of the actors, so that it gives the impression of watching the daily life in the time of crisis.
Rating: 6 /10