HOLLYWOOD (CA)
The Hollywood Reporter
October 15, 2018
By Vladimir Kozlov
Wojciech Smarzowski’s drama, which deals with sexual abuse and corruption inside the Catholic Church in Poland, has struck a chord in the country.
Polish film Kler (The Clergy), which paints a damaging picture of the local priesthood, has broken local box office records and caused controversy in the largely Catholic country.
Directed by Wojciech Smarzowski, the film was released in Poland on Sept. 28 and immediately broke the local opening weekend box office record with 935,000 admissions. Poland’s box office charts track admissions rather than revenue.
Since opening, The Clergy has had over 3 million admissions according to the distributor Kino Swiat. Local observers say the film has a chance of breaking Poland’s all-time attendance record, which James Cameron’s Avatar currently holds with 3.68 million admissions.
The producers of The Clergy claim it is based on real events. The film includes testimonies of abuse survivors, and features, among other things, a priest abusing a young boy. Also in the film, an alcoholic priest forces his lover to have an abortion and a senior cleric is involved in blackmail and corruption.
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