ITO – A Diary of an Urban Priest
Cinema as sutra, Ito – A Diary of an Urban Priest exists in a rarefied realm of aching spirituality and thwarted religious aspiration, echoing Robert Bresson's classic Diary of a Country Priest while elevating nonfiction to the level of pure art.
Ito is a fiercely religious film that's also anti-religious: How does one reconcile the idea that the suffering seek spiritual peace from a man who can't find it himself, unless he resorts to dogma and platitudes?
Honkasalo frames her story with ancient Japanese myth, employing ornate subtitles, hallucinatory visuals, dreams and night shots of a Japan that ripples with shadows and greasy neon. But the truly hypnotic content lies in the conversations, which are lengthy but mesmerizing, accessible and intimate, and suggest that the world is inescapable and tragic, and that our salvation lies solely in our yearnings.
– John Anderson, Variety
The film's trailer:
http://video.fi.msn.com/watch/video/ito-kilvoittelijan-paivakirja/1c6dp6rek
Duration: 111 min
Subtitles: Finnish
Age limit: K11
