THE PRIEST SAN is the latest film by Pyotr Mamonov, the actor who played Fr Anatoly in the famous Orthodox feature, OSTROV: The Island.
In this film, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa (an actor who’s appeared in many films and TV shows in the US, includingStar Trek: Next Gen and Heroes) plays Fr Nicholas, an Orthodox priest in Tokyo and the brother of a powerful Yakuza clan leader. Fr Nicholas saves a girl which brings his brother into conflict and an inevitable clan war. With Fr Nicholas in mortal danger, he’s sent to serve in a small village in rural Russia, but upon arriving discovers the people have some major problems to deal with. The village has been sold to a major developer and now authorities are forcing the people off their land. Fr Nicholas unites the villagers around the dilapidated church with the hopes of restoring the community and brining about peace.
The idea for the film was inspired by the history of the Orthodox Church in Japan and the story of the first Japanese convert. The film is a ‘coming full circle’ story, showing how the planting of good seed (Orthodoxy) in Japan comes to fruition and returns back to Russia in the form of a Japanese priest to combat evil there.
In this film, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa (an actor who’s appeared in many films and TV shows in the US, includingStar Trek: Next Gen and Heroes) plays Fr Nicholas, an Orthodox priest in Tokyo and the brother of a powerful Yakuza clan leader. Fr Nicholas saves a girl which brings his brother into conflict and an inevitable clan war. With Fr Nicholas in mortal danger, he’s sent to serve in a small village in rural Russia, but upon arriving discovers the people have some major problems to deal with. The village has been sold to a major developer and now authorities are forcing the people off their land. Fr Nicholas unites the villagers around the dilapidated church with the hopes of restoring the community and brining about peace.
The idea for the film was inspired by the history of the Orthodox Church in Japan and the story of the first Japanese convert. The film is a ‘coming full circle’ story, showing how the planting of good seed (Orthodoxy) in Japan comes to fruition and returns back to Russia in the form of a Japanese priest to combat evil there.
Thank-you to Elena Timofeeva for bringing this story to the attention of OFA and translating it into English.
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