GOD EXISTS, HER NAME IS PETRUNYA – A Review by John Strange
Macedonia is not a region of the world I know much about. Most of the info I have has been filtered through news reports and action b-movies. What I know is that it is a rather depressed part of the world with high unemployment.
That unemployment is at the core of God Exists, Her Name Is Petrunya. Petrunya is 42 years old and still living with her parents. Despite having a college degree in History, she has been unable to find work.
She is set up with a job interview. Petrunya is goaded out of bed by her mother and pretty much forced to go to a meeting that she fully expects will be a bust. She’s right. And she’s humiliated to boot.
Walking home, she finds herself in the middle of the local men taking part in a religious event. The local priest throws a wooden cross into the river and those men dive in after it. Good fortune and prosperity are supposed to be guaranteed to the man who retrieves it.
Standing by the shore, Petrunya watches the cross enter the water and the men dive in, fighting to get control of the religious artifact. Seeing the cross float by her, she impulsively dives in and retrieves it.
The men go nuts and steal it from her. The priest comes down and takes the cross from the man who is yelling that the cross is his. Petrunya gets her hands back on the cross and runs for home.
The rest of this film takes us through the painful truth that the men will NEVER accept that Petrunya deserved to keep the cross because it was a “MEN ONLY” event. Their actions, and those of the Police Commander and the local priest, are reprehensible.
Throughout, Petrunya remains oddly calm. This is affecting her, but she seems almost resigned to her fate.
The ending of this film was a surprise to me, a delightful surprise.
God Exists, Her Name Is Petrunya is a dark, somewhat depressing look at modern-day Macedonia and her people. But it’s not all bad.
Directed By:
- Teona Strugar Mitevska
Cast:
- Zorica Nusheva, Labina Mitevska, Simeon Moni Damevski, Suad Begovski, Stefan Vujisic, Violeta Shapkovska, Xhevdet Jashar
Specifications:
Runtime:
- 100 Minutes
Studio:
- 1844 Entertainment
Release Date:
Theatres:
- 06/25/2021
Virtual Cinemas:
- 06/25/2021
Country:
- Macedonia
Language:
- Macedonian with English subtitles
Website:
Trailer:
MPAA Rating:
- Unrated
Selig Rating:
Film Rating:
- 5 Stars
Picture Quality Rating:
- 5 Stars
Audio Quality Rating:
- 5 Stars
Selig Rating Scale:
5 Stars – Excellent movie, well worth the price.
4 Stars – Good movie
3 Stars – OK movie
2 Stars – No need to rush. Save it for a rainy day.
1 Star – Good that I saw it on the big screen but wish I hadn’t paid for it.
