Valaam, l'archipel des moines (2012)

Monk

Plot unavailable

Athos

The Athos peninsula in Greece is one of Europe's last secrets. Over 2000 monks live on Athos - cut off from the outside world. Access is denied to women, tourists are not welcome. Only workers and pilgrims can obtain a visa. The "Autonomous Monastic State of the Holy Mountain" attracts people who feel like they are missing something from their modern lives. With the help of three Athos monks, "Athos - A Taste of Heaven" tells the story of the island and its inhabitants in a unique filmed diary style. The film's guiding theme is the path we as people have to find and follow - each and everyone for themselves. "First we must heal our own souls, only then we can help others", is one of Father Galaktions core messages. He lives as a hermit on the holy mountain. Not all monks, however, live as secluded and demure as Father Galaktion. The film team is also received by Father Epiphanios - a gifted and poetic cook who certainly does not disdain the pleasures of life.

Into Great Silence

An intimate portrayal of the everyday lives of Carthusian monks of the Grande Chartreuse, high in the French Alps (Chartreuse Mountains). The idea for the film was proposed to the monks in 1984, but the Carthusians said they wanted time to think about it. The Carthusians finally contacted Gröning 16 years later to say they were now willing to permit Gröning to shoot the movie, if he was still interested.

Where are you, Adam?

The plot of the film unfolds in the ancient monastery of Dokhiar on the west coast of Mount Athos, on the Aegean peninsula. This peninsula is given to the exclusive use of the monks of Eastern Christianity. Images of nature are woven into a virtually uninterrupted series of work and prayer, lining up in the rhythmic interrelation of man and nature. The central figure of the film was the monastery’s elder, Hegumen Gregory, whose long-term experience of spiritual nourishment rewarded him with a deep understanding of the human soul and her desire to return to the state characteristic of Adam’s human nature before the fall.

Ivan the Terrible

Ivan, first tsar of Russia. History will remember him as "the Terrible. Russian people love him for centuries. He liberates Russia from foreign oppressors, demands absolute obedience and loyalty in order to radically modernise Russia? Ivan IV, Grand Duke of Moscow, first Tsar of Russia by the grace of God. A madman? A sadist?

Essene

Essene is about daily life in a Benedictine monastery and the resolution of conflict between personal needs and the institutional and organizational priorities of the community. In the Order, where the focus of life is the relationship of individual work and worship to the community as a whole, the brethren must cope with the same issues that arise in any community: rules, work, worship, values, love, and play.

Angry Monk - Reflections on Tibet

Schaedler's film tells the fascinating story of Tibetan monk Gendun Choephel whose robes ultimately proved to be too constricting for his imagination and intellect. Born in 1903, Choephel left an indelible mark on Tibetan culture and became an icon for young Tibetans today. Because of his political views he was persecuted by the Tibetan government and died a broken man in 1951. The film follows in the footsteps of the rebel monk whose intellect challenged the ancient traditions of old Tibet. Journeying through Tibet and India, “Angry Monk” provides a vivid picture of Tibet that is in refreshing contrast to its often idealized and esoteric image.

Les Couturiers de l'Église

Plot unavailable

Nacho Libre

Nacho Libre is loosely based on the story of Fray Tormenta ("Friar Storm"), aka Rev. Sergio Gutierrez Benitez, a real-life Mexican Catholic priest who had a 23-year career as a masked luchador. He competed in order to support the orphanage he directed.

Ladyhawke

Captain Etienne Navarre is a man on whose shoulders lies a cruel curse. Punished for loving each other, Navarre must become a wolf by night whilst his lover, Lady Isabeau, takes the form of a hawk by day. Together, with the thief Philippe Gaston, they must try to overthrow the corrupt Bishop and in doing so break the spell.

The Omen

Immediately after their miscarriage, the US diplomat Robert Thorn adopts the newborn Damien without the knowledge of his wife. Yet what he doesn’t know is that their new son is the son of the devil.

The Omen

A diplomatic couple adopts the son of the devil without knowing it. A remake of the classic horror film of the same name from 1976.

The Phantom of Liberty

This Surrealist film, with a title referencing the Communist Manifesto, strings together short incidents based on the life of director Luis Buñuel. Presented as chance encounters, these loosely related, intersecting situations, all without a consistent protagonist, reach from the 19th century to the 1970s. Touching briefly on subjects such as execution, pedophilia, incest, and sex, the film features an array of characters, including a sick father and incompetent police officers.

We're No Angels

Two escaped cons' only prayer to escape is to pass themselves off as priests and pass by the police blockade at the border into the safety of Canada.

Requiem

Four hardened crooks break out of prison. Hunted down, with nowhere to run, they seek refuge in the only place the police cannot follow, a Cistercian monastery. Cut off from the outside world, a nightmare stand off develops between the fugitives, ready to kill in defence of their dearly purchased freedom, and the monks they' re holding hostage. But in this potentially lethal confrontation, nothing is quite as it seems. The game' s been rigged from the start. Requiem' s a violent and fast paced French film that really delivers.

The College Girl Murders

Police try to track down a hooded serial killer who murders his victims with a combination of acid and poison gas

The Golden Child

After a Tibetan boy, the mystical Golden Child, is kidnapped by the evil Sardo Numspa, humankind's fate hangs in the balance. On the other side of the world in Los Angeles, the priestess Kee Nang seeks the Chosen One, who will save the boy from death. When Nang sees social worker Chandler Jarrell on television discussing his ability to find missing children, she solicits his expertise, despite his skepticism over being "chosen."

Tai-Chi Master

Falsely accused for cheating in a martial arts competition, two boyhood friends are banished from their Shaolin Temple and go their separate ways. As adults, they join opposing sides in a civil war. When one betrays the other, they settle their differences mano-a-mano.

Enter the Dragon

A martial artist agrees to spy on a reclusive crime lord using his invitation to a tournament there as cover.

Suffering of Ninko

Ninko is a virtuous Buddhist monk who’s embarrassed to discover that he’s irresistible to many women (and some men). After a particularly troubling encounter with a masked woman, he undertakes a journey to "purify" himself, hoping that this will equip him to rebuff sexual advances. He meets the samurai Kanzo and hears of a village decimated by the rapacious mountain goddess Yama-onna, who kills men to absorb their energy. Finally Ninko has a quest to fulfill…

The Prophecy II

In this direct-to-video sequel, Gabriel returns to try to destroy the human race he despises so much, with the help of a suicidal teen and the opposition of the angel Daniel.

Blood of the Templars

18-year old David grew up assuming that his mother and his father have died when he was a baby. He was raised by a monk and is close to completing High School. He gets into a fight during a party and discovers he is stronger than he thought he was- also, the blooding of an injury stops immediately and the wound heals within an hour. All of a sudden, the Priory of Sion and the Knights Templar show interest in the boy and the quest for the Holy Grail begins once again, with David being the one who can lead them to it.

The Da Vinci Code

A murder in Paris’ Louvre Museum and cryptic clues in some of Leonardo da Vinci’s most famous paintings lead to the discovery of a religious mystery. For 2,000 years a secret society closely guards information that — should it come to light — could rock the very foundations of Christianity.

The Name of the Rose

14th-century Franciscan monk William of Baskerville and his young novice arrive at a conference to find that several monks have been murdered under mysterious circumstances. To solve the crimes, William must rise up against the Church's authority and fight the shadowy conspiracy of monastery monks using only his intelligence – which is considerable.

Monty Python and the Holy Grail

King Arthur, accompanied by his squire, recruits his Knights of the Round Table, including Sir Bedevere the Wise, Sir Lancelot the Brave, Sir Robin the Not-Quite-So-Brave-As-Sir-Lancelot and Sir Galahad the Pure. On the way, Arthur battles the Black Knight who, despite having had all his limbs chopped off, insists he can still fight. They reach Camelot, but Arthur decides not to enter, as "it is a silly place".

The Countess Died of Laughter

A man goes to a convent with exciting news, one of the nuns is an heir to a fortune! The man causes the nuns to become obsessed with him as he tries to find the right heir.

Season of the Witch

A 14th century Crusader returns with his comrade to a homeland devastated by the Black Plague. The Church commands the two knights to transport a witch to a remote abbey, where monks will perform a ritual in hopes of ending the pestilence.

Secret Confessions in a Cloistered Convent

A young libertine after a series of love affairs, to escape the wrath of the betrayed husband disguises himself as a monk and hides in a convent where one immediately realizes how much his presence is very welcome.

Saint Sinner

In 1815 a monk, Tomas Alcala, unwittingly unleashes two female succubi, Munkar and Nakir, upon an unsuspecting 21st century. He is chosen by God to travel through the centuries and stop the demons' rampage.

Horror Express

Mysterious and unearthly deaths start to occur while Professor Saxton is transporting the frozen remains of a primitive humanoid creature he found in Manchuria back to Europe.

Raw Force

A group of martial arts students are en route to an island that supposedly is home to the ghosts of martial artists who have lost their honor. A Hitler lookalike and his gang are running a female slavery operation on the island as well. Soon, the two groups meet and all sorts of crazy things happen which include cannibal monks, piranhas, zombies, and more!

Bulletproof Monk

A mysterious and immortal Tibetan kung fu master, who has spent the last 60 years traveling around the world protecting the ancient Scroll of the Ultimate, mentors a selfish street kid in the ancient intricacies of kung fu.

Prom Night IV: Deliver Us from Evil

Thirty years after slashing a Hamilton High couple on Prom Night 1957, psychotic priest Father Jonas gets loose from the chapel basement where the other church fathers had been secretly keeping him locked up and drugged.

Agony: The Life and Death of Rasputin

Russian monk Grigori Rasputin rises to power, which corrupts him along the way. His sexual perversions and madness ultimatly leads to his gruesome assasination.

Black Death

As the plague decimates medieval Europe, rumours circulate of a village immune from the plague. There is talk of a necromancer who leads the village and is able to raise the dead. A fearsome knight joined by a cohort of soldiers and a young monk are charged by the church to investigate. Their journey is filled with danger, but it's upon entering the village that their true horror begins.

The Seventh Curse

When Dr. Yuen attempts to rescue a girl about to be sacrificed by the Worm Tribe in the middle of a jungle in Thailand, he is damned with seven 'blood curses' and must return there to find a permanent cure.

Bang Rajan

Set right before the fall of Thailand's old capital, Ayuttaya, Bang Rajan draws on the legend of a village of fighters who bravely fended off the Burmese armies.

Brother Orchid

When retired racket boss John Sarto tries to reclaim his place and former friends try to kill him, he finds solace in a monastery and reinvents himself as a pious monk.

The 8th Night

With prayer beads in one hand and an ax in the other, a monk hunts down a millennia-old spirit that's possessing humans and unleashing hell on Earth.

The Cup

While the World Cup is being played in France, two young Tibetan refugees arrive at a monastery in India. The atmosphere of serene contemplation is soon disrupted by soccer fever, as the two students desperately seek a TV to watch the final.

Karate Warrior

Anthony is in the Phillipines visiting his father. He inadvertently interferes with the affairs of local gangster Quino, who also happens to be a champion Karate fighter. After embarrassing Quino near a local tournament, Anthony is beaten up and left for dead. An old monk nurses Anthony back to health and teaches him the ways of martial arts so he may go back and fight Quino again.

The Golden Monk

The film tells the story of a monk who realizes he is the reincarnation of Golden Child / Taming Dragon Lohan who was cast down from heaven to experience life and death one hundred times as he broke a sacred rule by falling in love with another fairy, Jade. While Golden Child’s memories were erased, Jade refused to forget their love and accumulated goodwill over one hundred reincarnations…

Shaolin Martial Arts

After the destruction of the Shaolin Temple, the Chings are in control and send their best students to wipe out all of the remaining Shaolin practioners. They almost succeed, but two students escape. They learn various Kung Fu styles from different teachers to combat the Ching's two kung fu fighters.

Holy Robe of Shaolin Temple

Disguised as a Holy Monk of the Golden Light Temple, Tian Yuan challenges the high priest of Shaolin for ultimate rule of the holy place. But just as combat ensues, Emperor Tang's guards overrun the temple, killing all in their path (except a small group of priests who escape with the venerated - and magical - holy robe). The evil emperor will lose power if he can't locate the robe. But the monks aren't giving it up without a helluva fight!

Fatal Deviation

A young kenpo karate martial artist returns home after ten years in reform school on a quest to find out who murdered his father. He is befriended by an old monk and a local Irish beauty. His search takes him to the prestigious Bealtaine Martial Arts Tournament. Together with his past, the good guy is drawn into conflict with the local drug baron and his son, and the conflict makes the young man face his father's death in a way he could never have imagined.

Dorotheus

In medieval Serbia, a young monk, a master of herbal medicine, grabs the attention of warlord's wife.

Nicostratos the Pelican

After his wife died a man refuses to go out and doesn't want to talk to his only son. Life has no meaning for him. One day his son finds a baby pelican and decides to leave the bird at home. Pelican helps the boy find his father again and revive him back to life ...

Deliverance

Two monks on a mission choose very different paths