# The Saint (2016 film)

The Saint (Lithuanian: Šventasis) is a Lithuanian film written and directed by Andrius Blaževičius and released in 2016.
It is a social drama exploring themes of social pressure, vulnerability, masculinism, the role of religion in our society, and the fragility of post-Soviet countries in the late 2010s.

## Plot

Lithuanian provincial town is facing Great Recession in 2008. Vytas, portrayed by Marius Repšys, gets fired from his job at a factory. Pushed by his wife, he immediately starts looking for a new job, but not successfully. After having his haircut done, Vytas starts looking for a new love affair with a hairdresser Marija, played by Gelminė Glemžaitė. This is not successful either. Finally, Vytas gets involved in a third search – he starts looking for a guy who posted a video on YouTube, claiming he saw Jesus Christ in their town. This is the only time he succeeds.

## Cast

* Marius Repšys as Vytas
* Indrė Patkauskaitė as Juratė
* Gelminė Glemžaitė as Marija
* Valentinas Krulikovskis as Petras
* Lukas Malinauskas as The Saint
* Artūras Aleksejevas as Edgaras
* Eglė Ancevičiūtė as Partygoer
* Jonas Braškys as Rokas
* Erikas Brazauskas as Kindergarten boy
* Remigijus Bučius as Neighbor
* Karolis Butvydas as Partygoer
* Vladimir Dorondov as Consultant
* Martyna Gedvilaitė as Pop group 'Illusion'
* Karolina Gričiūtė as Aušra
* Aurelija Jogaudaitė as Partygoer
* Junė Juknelytė as Dovilė's girl
* Jelena Juščenko-Kirejeva as Secretary
* Jurijus Karanas as Marija's father
* Elija Kavaliauskaitė as Girl with umbrella
* Urtė Kavaliauskaitė as Indrė's girl
* Dangiras Masionis as Sacristan
* Darius Meškauskas as Employer
* Ignas Misiūra as Man in suit
* Sandra Navickaitė as Pop group 'Illusion'
* Marius Pocevičius as Partygoer
* Tomas Pukys as Partygoer
* Agnieška Ravdo as Algina
* Ilona Rėkuvienė as Marija's mother
* Dovilė Šilkaitytė as Gražina
* Audrius Tamulionis as Elderly man
* Justas Tertelis as Partygoer
* Liubov Timochova as Petras' mother

## Production

This is the first feature film of Andrius Blaževičius. After producing his graduation short film Ten reasons (2011), Lithuanian producer Marija Razgutė (M-Films) signed a second collaboration with the director for his first feature film The Saint, originally titled Crisis.
The film had one of the best openings at the Lithuanian box office in 2017. It remained in the number one spot for its second week in Lithuania and exceeded 66,000 admissions in its first week of release, accounting for nearly a quarter of all entries for the week.

## Reception

The film received generally positive reviews from critics. It garnered over 70% positive reviews, with an average score of 3.4/5 based on 154 collected reviews on the website Letterboxd.

## Accolades

| Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipients | Result |
| 47th International Kiev Molodist Film Festival (Belarus) 2018 | 2018 | Grand Prix | Andrius Blaževičius | Won |
| International Vilnius Film Festival (Kino pavasari) | 2017 | Best Actor | Marius Repšys | Won |
| National Lithuanian Film Cinema Award "Silver Crane" | 2017 | Best Feature Film | Andrius Blaževičius | Won |
| National Lithuanian Film Cinema Award "Silver Crane" | 2017 | Best Director | Andrius Blaževičius | Won |
| National Lithuanian Film Cinema Award "Silver Crane" | 2017 | Best Screenplay | Andrius Blaževičius, Marija Kavtaradzė, Teklė Kavtaradzė | Won |
| National Lithuanian Film Cinema Award "Silver Crane" | 2017 | Best Actor | Marius Repšys | Won |
| National Lithuanian Film Cinema Award "Silver Crane" | 2017 | Best Supporting Actress | Gelminė Glemžaitė | Won |
| National Lithuanian Film Cinema Award "Silver Crane" | 2017 | Best Supporting Actor | Valentinas Krulikovskis | Won |
| National Lithuanian Film Cinema Award "Silver Crane" | 2017 | Best Individual Achievement | Producer Marija Razgutė | Selected |
| National Lithuanian Film Cinema Award "Silver Crane" | 2017 | Best Cinematography | Linas Dabriška | Selected |
| National Lithuanian Film Cinema Award "Silver Crane" | 2017 | Best Actress | Indrė Patkauskaitė | Selected |
| National Lithuanian Film Cinema Award "Silver Crane" | 2017 | Best Editing | Silvija Vilkaitė | Selected |
| National Lithuanian Film Cinema Award "Silver Crane" | 2017 | Best Art Direction | Aurimas Akšys | Selected |
| Lübeck Nordic Film Days Festival (Germany) | 2017 | Selected | Andrius Blaževičius | Selected |
| Crossing Europe Festival (Austria) | 2017 | Selected | Andrius Blaževičius | Selected |
| Trieste International Film Festival (Italy) | 2017 | Selected | Andrius Blaževičius | Selected |
| Brisbane International Film Festival (Australia) | 2017 | Selected | Andrius Blaževičius | Selected |
| 23rd International Minsk Film Festival, Listapad (Belarus) | 2016 | Special Jury Mention | Andrius Blaževičius | Selected |
| Warsaw International Film Festival (Poland) | 2016 | Selected | Andrius Blaževičius | Selected |
| Busan International Film Festival (South Korea) | 2016 | Selected | Andrius Blaževičius | Selected |