Pavel Lunghin | Martyria

Ars Christiana No. II (XVI) / 2023 ‘The Monk and the Demon’: a philosophical take on ‘Stan Pățitul’ Elena Dulgheru

The Monk and the Demon (2016), the final film by Russian director Nikolai Dostal, based on a screenplay by Yuri Arabov, is a dramatic comedy blending folk parable, hagiographic fable and theological inquiry into the relationship between man and the devil, set in a nineteenth-century monastery. Following monk Ivan and the demon Legion through a series of fantastical adventures culminating in Jerusalem, the film raises the provocative question of whether fallen angels can be humanised through love and repentance.

Theatrum No. II (XII) / 2021 Ostrovul – madness for Christ, the crucifixion of the old man and a defiance of the lukewarm spirit Elena Dulgheru

The film Ostrovul (Pavel Lunghin, 2006) is analysed from the perspective of the director’s biographical paradox, the essential contribution of debut screenwriter Dmitri Sobolev, and its appeal to the Christian Orthodox audience. Its success paved the way for a whole wave of Russian religious cinema, and the story of the monk Anatoly, structured around the triad of betrayal, atonement and forgiveness, is examined scene by scene.