ALMOST HOLY (Steve Hoover). 97 minutes. Opens Friday (May 27). See listing. Rating: NNN
Steve Hoover’s Almost Holy is an almost unceasingly grim documentary about Ukrainian pastor Gennadiy Mokhnenko, a good man who does bad things.
Mokhnenko has become a controversial figure in the town of Mariupol, where he’s established an orphanage for street children who’d otherwise be lost to drugs or prostitution.
This is, on its face, an inarguable good it’s just that the means by which Mokhnenko rescues his charges are questionable. He uses force, and he’s been known to lock kids up to keep them from going back to their dealers and pimps.
As Hoover tags along on Mokhnenko’s missions, we get a glimpse of a city (and a nation) collapsing into anarchy. In this landscape, sure, Mokhnenko’s vigilante methods make emotional sense – though it also seems certain he’s going to get someone killed.
In its quieter moments, Almost Holy allows us to wonder whether the end really does justify the means.
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