# What is the name of this movie . . .? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [October 26, 2024, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-of-this-movie/1009280 "2024-10-26T22:16:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2024, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-of-this-movie/1009280/1 "2024-10-26T22:16:40Z")
_ **Spoilers ahead** _ I am trying to remember the name of a foreign film that I saw about four or five years ago (and I’m pretty sure it was released around that time). \*It is an Eastern European film, probably either Russian or Polish. \*It shows the trials and tribulations of a boy (I think in his early teens) whose grandmother - his only caregiver - died and he was left to fend by himself. \*He is abused by a priest at some point in the film \*There is a scene showing said priest falling into a pit crawling with rats. I won’t give it a bullet point because I’m not sure, but I do seem to remember the movie being in black and white. Although it may sound like it, it is definitely not based on a book by [Jerzy Kosiński](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerzy_Kosi%C5%84ski). Any thoughts? Guesses? Witty remarks? Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2024, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-of-this-movie/1009280/2 "2024-10-26T22:18:14Z")
Are you sure it’s not the Painted Bird, a faithful adaptation of the (grim though bogus) childhood biography of Jerzy Kosinski? ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2024, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-of-this-movie/1009280/3 "2024-10-26T22:20:11Z")
100% sure - definitely not based on anything by Jerzy Kosinski. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2024, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-of-this-movie/1009280/4 "2024-10-26T23:48:20Z")
When is it set, and what denomination was the priest? If he was Catholic, that puts it in Poland. If he was Orthodox, in Russia. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2024, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-of-this-movie/1009280/5 "2024-10-27T02:19:49Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > When is it set Can’t believe I forgot that! Not certain, but I think it’s set late in WWII or just aftair it ended. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2024, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-of-this-movie/1009280/6 "2024-10-27T04:39:08Z")
Every single thing you mentioned is in “The Painted Bird” including the priest falling into a pit of rats. I know you keep saying this isn’t the film but are you actually certain of that? It fits 100% what you are looking for. > **[THE PAINTED BIRD Review](https://www.movieguide.org/reviews/movies/the-painted-bird.html)** > > THE PAINTED BIRD is an overlong, repetitious drama about a young boy trying to find his way back to his parents during World War II in Eastern Europe... ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2024, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-of-this-movie/1009280/7 "2024-10-27T05:18:50Z")
[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/qUelMHrkonA/maxresdefault.jpg "Kids in the Hall: Citizen Kane") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUelMHrkonA) ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2024, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-of-this-movie/1009280/8 "2024-10-27T14:17:25Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > Every single thing you mentioned is in “The Painted Bird” including the priest falling into a pit of rats. I know you keep saying this isn’t the film but are you actually certain of that? It fits 100% what you are looking for. It must be. Yet, I have absolutely no recollection of Harvey Keitel, Barry Pepper, or Stellan Skarsgard, all of whom I know well and enjoy watching on screen. And, having just watched [the (unsettling) trailer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=838aoVkKii4), I see that the young protagonist is Jewish. As a member of the tribe myself, that’s something I am more than surprised I can’t remember. It’s also humbling to be so wrong when I also have read both the Painted Bird (and Steps) so am more than familiar with the story (although, in fairness, that was almost half a century ago). I’ll blame it on some combination of getting old and decrepit, and on my country Canada’s legalization of cannabis not too long before the movie was released! (P.S. Love the [film ‘criticism’ in your link](https://www.movieguide.org/reviews/movies/the-painted-bird.html)! It’s the type of review which would have compelled me to see it 🙂 )