Reviews & Ratings for
Boże Ciało (2019)

Daniel has a spiritual awakening while serving his sentence in a youth detention center for second-degree murder, but his criminal background prevents him from pursuing his dream to become a priest once he is released. He is assigned to work in a sawmill in a small town, and while visiting the local church, he pretends to be a priest. The vicar of that church meets Daniel wholly believing his lie, and leaves him in charge of the church while he goes to rehab for an alcohol problem. Daniel begins performing all the duties of priesthood, and enjoys it.

The parishioners enjoy his unorthodox methods, even his unexpected claim from the pulpit to be a murderer, but they have mixed feelings when he starts asking about a recent car accident that caused a lot of trauma in the community. The more time he spends there, he begins to uncover the small town's deep secrets: it's still unclear whether the car crash was actually an accident, but the mayor insists that the issue has been put to bed. The biggest point of contention is whether the driver should be allowed to be buried in the town's cemetery with the other victims. Daniel discovers that after months, the cremated remains still haven't been buried anywhere, and many in the town had sent hateful, threatening letters to the widow. He and his new friend Eliza confront the townspeople about this, showing them the letters with their handwriting, and Daniel decides to go forward with a funeral at the cemetery. Eliza is thrown out of the house by her mother for bringing out the letters, and she asks to stay at the temporary rectory with Daniel; while there, they make love.

During the funeral, many of the townspeople put aside their hate and pay their respects, and at the end of the ceremony, the priest from Daniel's youth detention center arrives, having been tipped off that the town's new priest is an impostor. He tells Daniel to pack his bags immediately, but Daniel sneaks out a window and goes to the church to celebrate his "farewell Mass". During the Mass, he removes his vestment and shirt, showing all his tattoos, and leaves the church. Daniel is sent back to jail where he again has to face the brother of the man he murdered.