Film Review: Man of God

Man of God is a 2021 film that follows the life of Saint Nektarios of Pentapolis from his time as Bishop of Pentapolis in Egypt to the end of his life. The great strength of Man of God is the extent it goes to highlighting the virtues and endurance of Saint Nektarios in an authentic, Orthodox fashion. It is both enjoyable and edifying. The emphasis of this film is the remarkable suffering that Saint Nektarios endured, arising from the lies, slander and calumny that came about as a result of the jealous fellow hierarchs in the Patriarchate of Alexandria. This followed the Saint for the rest of his life, and meant that Saint Nektarios could never settle anywhere in peace without having troubles with both Church and state authorities. Where Man of God excels is in showing the viewers how Saint Nektarios found ways to live faithfully amidst these difficulties. Despite all of his troubles, he never allowed these to hinder his love for God - never allowing himself to get into further troubles to do what was correct. Most of the important moments in the Saint’s life are explored in the film, including his time in Egypt, at the

Rizarios School, at the Monastery he founded in Aegina (now the Monastery of Saint Nektarios), and on his deathbed at the Evangelismos hospital in Athens in 1920. Perhaps because of the visual medium, however, it often comes across more powerfully than reading about these parts of the Saint’s life. Man of God is masterfully directed by Yelena Popovic, a devout Orthodox Christian and filmmaker. The imagery, and the filming that occurred in Greece all have an authentic feel and make the viewer feel as though they were in the shoes of the Saint. This is a professional production, and it shows. Aris Servetalis takes on the role of Saint Nektarios, and truly captures the humility and love for God that the Saint had. Saint Nektarios’ assistant at the Rizarios School, Kostas, is played by Alexander Petrov who is a well-known Russian actor. The other notable actor in the film who has a short but vital cameo at the end is the American actor Mickey Rourke. This film is a great blessing and was filmed in difficult circumstances during the COVID-19 pandemic in Greece. There were many challenges in having this film produced, and yet the result is nothing short of magnificent. Despite being in English, Man of God was the highest-grossing film in Greece for a number of weeks and even made the US box office charts due to the sheer volume of churches that booked out cinemas for their parishioners to view the film. Many parishes continue to organise screenings of this film, and our recommendation is that all of our readers - young and old - go and see this film.