'The Student' Thrills and Enlightens

In “Uchenik (The Student),” Russian director Kirill Serebrennikov paints a haunting picture of a student’s violent descent into religious fanaticism and the horrific consequences that follow. To call the film an impeachment of religion or even religious fervor, however, would not be entirely accurate. “The Student” is not a cautionary tale against piety—it is an admonition of obsession, and a powerful one at that.

The “student” in question is a lanky teenager by the name of Veniamin (Pyotr Skvortsov). An unremarkable pupil and the son of an overworked divorcée, Venya turns to a purist form of Christianity in search of a sense of worth and belonging, self-studying furiously (as evidenced by a clearly well-read pocket Bible) and amassing an encyclopedic memory of the Holy Scripture. As the film proceeds, he becomes more and more belligerent in his faith, quoting book and verse with such frequency that his increasingly evangelical tirades become dominated by words which are not his own. Director Serebrennikov cleverly superimposes on the screen each biblical reference that Venya invokes, a somewhat gimmicky but nonetheless effective tactic in demonstrating the breadth and depth of Venya’s obsession.

Venya’s transformation compels him to wage a moral crusade at school against alleged evils— among these bikini-wearing, the teaching of evolutionism, and sexual health education—encountering strong resistance from a teacher, Elena Krasnova (Viktoriya Isakova). It’s clear that director Serebrennikov intends her to be the voice of reason: Elena’s futile attempts to reform Venya are an important reflection of how far gone he is by the end of the film. Indeed, even when Elena begins to call on biblical passages herself to counter Venya’s fiery proselytization, Venya refuses to constructively engage with her opinion, instead branding her a liar and even plotting to do her bodily harm.

As can be expected from a film adaption of a stage play, “The Student” is replete with stellar, rapid-fire dialogue in which different worldviews and ideologies clash vigorously and meaningfully. While it’s not difficult to see which side the director leans toward, the opinions featured in the film’s passionate on-screen debates are never flimsy straw men—Serebrennikov does not merely pay lip service to Venya’s fundamentalism but rather digs deep into its twisted rational underpinnings. The fact that the film centers on Christian fundamentalism is also important and valuable: With the attention of the world fixed on radical Islam, “The Student” demonstrates how it is not any particular religion that results in senseless violence. Any doctrine or affiliation pursued to the point of zealotry and obsession is blinding.

That “The Student” will likely never see a wide non-Russian audience is a shame, and not just at a cinematic level. Full-blooded and hauntingly insightful, Serebrennikov’s latest film is a must-see for any who note the disorder of the world and count themselves among the perplexed and the alarmed.