Review of The Island (2007) by Alexander D — 07 Jul 2011

This movie is very simple, yet beautiful in its simplicity. There are no head-turning special effects or remarkably surprising twists, just a story of repentance, humility, contentment, and sanctity. It is the only commercial movie I've ever seen that has a genuinely Orthodox Christian theme.

I would recommend it to anyone who is Orthodox and anyone who would like a little peak into the Orthodox ethos, with the one reservation that while it portrays a part of our faith faithfully, it portrays only a part of it.

Someone below made a comment about whether the resolution of his grief about Tikhon was necessary -- I think it was necessary in a more subtle way: he was haunted by it because there was something he needed to know about it, which makes more sense than his inability to trust in the forgiveness of God.

I think this is a great first start in what, God willing, could be a new genre of Orthodoxy-influenced commercially successful movies with more powerful ones to come. The extra effort to read the English subtitles is well worth it.