Sword of God – Krew Boga (2018)

Directed by: Bartosz Konopka | 100 minutes | drama, history, horror, action | Actors: Christoph Pieczynski, Karol Bernacki, Wiktoria Gorodecka, Jacek Koman, Jan Bijvoet, Jeroen Perceval, Olivier De Sagazan, Dominik Bak, Konrad Beta, Marcel Borowiec, Izabela Chlewinska, Halina Chmielarz, Marta Cichorska, Kamil Dobrowolski, Karol Dus

Ah, the early Middle Ages. The art of printing did not yet exist, let alone handy inventions such as Google Translate. When you went to a foreign country, you really did not understand the inhabitants, which severely limited the communication options. The Polish ‘Sword of God’ (‘Krew Boga’) by the 2010 Oscar nominee Bartosz Konopka (the short documentary ‘Królik po berlinsku’ (2009)) does one thing perfectly: to empathize with the feeling that crusaders at the time should have had. It gives a strong feeling of impotence to be in a group of people of which you do not speak the language and do not know the culture and customs.

Two men are on a deserted beach. It is not immediately clear where they come from and what their purpose is. One just washed up. His other traveling companions did not survive the crossing. This Willibrord (Krzysztof Pieczynski) turns out to be a bishop. He was sent by the king (Flemish actor Jan Bijvoet) to convert the local population to Christianity before the king will visit the country. The other (Karol Bernacki), who rescued Willibrord from the water and immediately gains all our sympathy, is a bit younger and remains nameless. He also seeks affiliation with the inhabitants of the country that remains anonymous, but chooses a different, somewhat less strict, approach than his compatriot.

‘Sword of God’ is a slow-moving film. The camera sometimes moves for seconds along elements or structures of a landscape, with the camera angle being such that you initially do not know what you are looking at. The whole film is drenched in blue/grey tones and the cinematographer makes extensive use of close-ups, for example of faces, body parts or the objects the cast is holding. This is especially interesting when we get acquainted with the indigenous people. The group of people has a strong group function, they are rarely alone and their appearance also has great similarities. Their faces are decorated with a kind of white clay, which cracks or crumbles here and there due to dehydration. There is a lot of physical contact, we regularly see them lying on top of, next to and over each other, as if they are performing a modern ballet. There is a certain threat from them, but because you as a viewer do not understand the language (their dialogues are not subtitled, very probably this is a conscious artistic choice) you never know where you stand. It is also not easy to distinguish individuals, although a few stand out, such as the leader of the couple, Geowold (Jacek Koman) and his daughter Prahwe (Wiktoria Gorodecka).

As the film progresses, we see the effects of the different ways these strangers operate in this unfamiliar land. The pace remains slow, but the atrocities intensify. Yet ‘Sword of God’ is not a full-blooded horror or action film, but an interesting and successful genre mix, in which the dramatic aspect predominates. The atmosphere of this film is excellent, so it’s a shame that the story is a bit thin for the running time. Yet this Polish film manages to distinguish between intimidation through violence and threats or persuasion through empathy and mutual understanding and respect. And that while the approach of the two opposite characters is the same. ‘Sword of God’ provides plenty of food for thought.