To Kill a Priest (1989)

Although it lacks the tragicomic punch of Europa, Europa, her next directorial effort, this thoughtful 1989 film by Polish New Wave director Agnieszka Holland explores the same themes of sullied ideals and institutional barbarism that thread through much of her varied oeuvre. Ed Harris gives a compelling lead performance as Stefan, the Communist loyalist let down by his party and inexplicably stirred by the activism of a priest. Pete Postlethwaite, Joanne Whalley-Kilmer, and several others also make fine supporting turns, although they're hampered somewhat by the dizzying array of accents in this English-language film about a Polish labor movement. Christopher Lambert isn't very charismatic as the dissident priest, but he really isn't the center of attention, anyway. No, the real problem with this film is that in its quest to paint in shades of gray, it never really renders much of a portrait at all. There's lots of business about the troubled marriage and tortured childhood of Harris' party loyalist and all sorts of gruesome semi-slapstick about the murder itself. Yet Holland's screenplay is never sure whether it's a moral inquiry, a melodrama, or a murder mystery. The Third Miracle, which reunited the director with her leading man, fairly successfully borrowed the trappings of suspense and courtroom drama to explore similar themes of faith, skepticism, and loyalty. To Kill a Priest never finds the right structure to lean on, and as a result it sort of falls flat. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide