New York fans of Polish film will soon have a chance to see the latest work from acclaimed director Malgorzata Szumowska, In The Name Of. It screened briefly in a theaters a few weeks ago, and it’s playing once again on Nov. 24 at the Tribeca Film Center as part of a series on Polish women in cinema.
The film, which won the Teddy Award for Best Feature Film on LGBT topics at the Berlin International Film Festival, is a story of forestalled passion told in understated oblique glances and gestures. It follows the developing relationship between Adam (Andrzej Chyra), a priest who runs a center for troubled youths in a small village, and Humpty (Mateusz Kosciukiewicz), a young man who may be severely handicapped—his actions are simple, like those of a small child. Their friendship is sweet yet fraught with sexual tension, and Szumowska tracks its evolution with wise restraint, letting the complexities of Adam’s inner life unfold in small, layered moments. She’s a bit too distant at times—the ending in particular feels disconnected from the rest of the film—but overall, it’s a moving look at the complicated intersection of religion and sexual desire.
Adam is a strong physical presence. We first see him running in the woods, and he spends most of the time either laboring or playing soccer with the boys in his care. Szumowska’s framing emphasizes Adam’s body, presenting him as very much a part of the physical world, hiding his sensuality behind priestly robes and quiet contemplation.
The center has an unmistakable aura of dangerous machismo, as the young men frequently compete for dominance in sexually-charged encounters, often with violence. Humpty’s singularity lies in just how much his own behavior is stripped of posturing: he doesn’t care about looking tough. He nearly drowns after an encounter with bullies, so he asks the über-sporty Adam to teach him how to swim, and so begins their casual intimacy.
Halfway through the film, Szumowska unfortunately exchanges this world of luminous coyness and murmurs for full-blown melodrama. The tipping point comes with a new arrival at the center: Blondie, a broad-shouldered male with a full mouth and a slouchy walk, quickly establishes himself as the ultimate “bad boy.” He challenges Michal, the center’s supervisor and Adam’s colleague, by abusing drugs and alcohol. But what makes Blondie central to the plot are not his shenanigans as much as his sexuality. Unlike Adam, whose work and identity are threatened by his homosexuality, Blondie is open about his desires and refuses to respect boundaries, sneaking off at night to make love to another boy.
The film is at its best when it takes a more subtle approach to depicting Adam’s inner struggle. One scene finds him applying a compress to Humpty’s bloodied nose, a poignant restaging of the traditional romantic trope in which a damsel tends to the hero’s wounds. Szumowska cuts to the two of them passed out on the couch with Humpty’s head in Adam’s lap while the latter sleeps upright. The image conveys exhaustion rather than sexual tension, yet when Adam awakens the next day, he looks confused, expecting Humpty by his side. It’s this emphasis on physical intimacy that’s warm but not erotic that makes In The Name Of’s suggestiveness enthralling.
The main obstacle to Adam’s self-realization is his colleague Michal, who could ruin his career if he discovered the truth. The boys’ crude pranks never amount to anything serious, but Michal’s mask of kindness hides a small-mindedness that could lead to genuine tragedy. He’s insufferable, so bound to dogma that he lacks all empathy; through him, Szumowska reminds us that laws (both civil and religious) become pointless when they prevent human connection and basic decency.
Unfortunately, In The Name Of too often spells out the tension simmering inside Adam, whose commitment to celibacy prevents him from finding happiness. Instead of exploring what prevents Adam from leaving the priesthood, the ending muddles things by taking a sharp turn that certainly surprises but doesn’t quite feel earned. Szumowska retreats from her commitment to Adam’s physical presence and autonomy, ending things on a puzzling note.
Still, the film is worth seeing simply for its remarkable restraint. It’s filled with events that lesser filmmakers would turn into huge, emotional showpieces, but that Szumowska wisely stages as quiet and simple. There’s incredible beauty in these small moments, and that makes the consequences that follow all the more compelling.
