Servants

Released Feb 25, 2022

1h 20m

Drama

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96%

26 Reviews

Tomatometer

44%

Fewer than 50 Ratings

Audience Score

In Czechoslovakia, 1980, the totalitarian Communist regime demands allegiance from all its subjects, including the clergy. Servants follows Michal and Juraj, two conflicted novitiates whose seminary is under increasing pressure by the Party to mold its students into satisfactory citizens. With the school on the brink of dissolution, and its head priest a target for blackmail, Michal and Juraj will have to choose between collaborating with the government as informants, or becoming targets of the secret police. Shot in striking, atmospheric black-and-white, Servants is both a brooding morality tale and a taut political thriller "that jitters and shivers with anti-authoritarian sentiment beneath its serene monochrome aesthetic" (Variety).

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Jim P

Have I seen a different movie to the critics? Sure, it was well-shot. But telling a story? All over the place…

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

12/22/23

Full Review

brent m

Chilling and thoughtful, director Ivan Ostrochovsky's second narrative feature spins an edge-of-your-seat tale while simultaneously delivering an insightful meditation on what it means "to serve" and presenting a workshop on outstanding camera work. Set in 1980 totalitarian Czechoslovakia, the film follows the gripping struggle of a group of students and administrators in a Bratislava seminary who are being pressured to cooperate with a Catholic organization that has agreed to side with Communist Party dictates to prevent the circulation of "subversive" ideas, all the while wrestling with their own hearts about doing what is morally and spiritually correct. Failure to go along with these requirements could result in seminarians being expelled and drafted into the military or, even worse, the permanent closure of the facility. This high-stakes morality play is a tale told in the shadows, one perfectly suited to the picture's magnificent black-and-white cinematography, which alone is worth the price of admission. The eloquent framing of each shot and the filmmaker's masterful execution of the picture's mise-en-scene element are among the finest I have ever witnessed, and they enhance the storytelling by skillfully embellishing the actions playing out on screen. Some may find the pacing somewhat sluggish, but this deliberately employed tactic significantly adds to the slowly simmering narrative, upping the tension as events unfold. What I most liked about this offering, however, is the deft handling of the themes that underlie the principal storyline, adding a level of depth that takes the film to an entirely different level. It's unfortunate that "Servants" has not received wider play or recognition than it has thus far, but, now that it's available for streaming online, here's hoping it garners the attention it genuinely deserves.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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R Victor B

Very timely...a lesson for anyone out there who might think that Putin's war is not worth our fighting against.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/28/22

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Ivan Ostrochovský

Director

Samuel Skyva

Juraj

Samuel Polakovič

Michal

Vlad Ivanov

Dr. Ivan

Vladimír Strnisko

Dean

Milan Mikulčík

Spiritual

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Servants: Trailer 1

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Tim Cogshell

FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)

It's actually quite good, if a bit cumbersome.

Mar 12, 2022

Full Review

Dmitry Samarov

Chicago Reader

The filmmakers have clearly seen many films and believe they can telegraph gravitas by employing fancy camerawork and such. But without an emotional or narrative underpinning, all the style in the world is no deeper than a perfume ad.

Mar 8, 2022

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Natalia Winkelman

New York Times

[A] captivating ecclesiastical drama...

Feb 24, 2022

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Erick Estrada

Cinegarage

Beyond being beautiful it shows us the ugliness that lies within the aesthetically pleasing images. [Full review in Spanish]

Jul 18, 2022

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Steve Morrissey

Radio Times

Servants is sensational to look at...A film that has something to say and does so entertainingly, it's above all determined not to wag the finger.

Rated: 4/5

Jun 8, 2022

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Roger Moore

Movie Nation

It's a parable-as-crucible for the country as a whole, a timely reminder of past-and-present Russian repression set in a Catholic seminary.

Rated: 3/4

Mar 25, 2022

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Synopsis

In Czechoslovakia, 1980, the totalitarian Communist regime demands allegiance from all its subjects, including the clergy. Servants follows Michal and Juraj, two conflicted novitiates whose seminary is under increasing pressure by the Party to mold its students into satisfactory citizens. With the school on the brink of dissolution, and its head priest a target for blackmail, Michal and Juraj will have to choose between collaborating with the government as informants, or becoming targets of the secret police. Shot in striking, atmospheric black-and-white, Servants is both a brooding morality tale and a taut political thriller "that jitters and shivers with anti-authoritarian sentiment beneath its serene monochrome aesthetic" (Variety).

Director: Ivan Ostrochovský
Screenwriter: Rebecca Lenkiewicz, Marek Lescák, Ivan Ostrochovský
Distributor: Film Movement
Production Co: Punkchart films, Point Films
Genre: Drama
Original Language: Slovak
Release Date (Theaters): Feb 25, 2022, Limited
Runtime: 1h 20m

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