The Confession (2010 film)

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The Confession
The Confession FilmPoster.jpeg
Film poster
Directed by Tanel Toom
Written byCaroline Bruckner
Tanel Toom
Produced byEmily Williams
StarringLewis Howlett
Joe Eales
Cinematography Davide Cinzi
Edited byMarianne Kuopanportti
Music byPaul Lambert
Production
company
Release date
  • 12 June 2010 (2010-06-12)
Running time
26 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

The Confession is a 2010 British melodramatic short film. It was directed by Tanel Toom, and written by Caroline Bruckner and Tanel Toom. The film follows a boy named Sam who can't think of any sins to tell the priest at his first confession. He worries that he won't be a real Catholic if the priest doesn't absolve him of some misdeed. Jacob, Sam's friend, devises a solution in the form of a prank, but the result is tragic.

Contents

Plot

Sam, an eight-year-old attending a Catholic school, and his trouble making friend Jacob prepare for their first confession. Their class is given a list of sins that children can confess. These include "bullying" and "swearing" among others. Sam pores over the list but is unable to come up with a sin he has done. Sam asks Jacob what he will confess. Jacob states that he would mention not listening to his mother and locking his sister in the closet. Sam feels like he will not be a true Catholic if he cannot be absolved, so he turns to Jacob to suggest a sin Sam could commit and then confess to.

Jacob and Sam decide to steal Farmer Collins’ Scarecrow and leave it in the middle of the road for him to find while he is driving his tractor to town, committing the sin of "stealing." The plan backfires when Farmer Collins pulls off the main road before he sees the stolen scarecrow. As soon as the farmer leaves, however, another car speeds down the twisted and deserted street and, believing the scarecrow to be a dead body, swerves to avoid it and crashes into a tree. Sam walks up to the steaming car and sees a woman and a little girl alive, but severely dazed and bleeding from the head. The car bursts into flames, while Sam and Jacob flee the scene with the scarecrow. As they are running through the woods, the vehicle explodes in the distance. Sam and Jacob dump the scarecrow off the cliff by the tree they play by every day. Jacob makes Sam swear never to tell anyone because "it was an accident." Sam is full of guilt. That night he dreams the dead woman, the farmer and his father all know. He is haunted by what he has done.

In school the next day Sam runs out of his class into the bathroom, unable to deal with what he has done. Jacob runs after him and tells him that no one knows that he has to keep it together. Jacob tells Sam to meet him at the tree where they hid the scarecrow after dinner.

During dinner that night Sam’s father mentions that Collins’ scarecrow was missing, leading guilt striven Sam to believe that his father knows what he has done. After dinner he meets Jacob by the tree. Sam wants to tell someone what has happened. Jacob states that if he does Jacob will deny everything because it was Sam’s fault. The two boys start pushing each other, while Sam yells over and over again "it’s not my fault, it’s not my fault." During the fight Sam accidentally pushes Jacob into the same cliff they dumped the scarecrow the day before, killing him.

The next day Sam goes to church early in the morning in his robes to have his first confession. While the Priest states that confession does not start until later, Sam insists that he confess his sins now. The Priest, seeing that something is clearly troubling Sam, agrees.

Sam states "Bless me father for I have sinned, this is my first confession." The Priest gently asks Sam to name his sins. With tears streaming down his face Sam, unable to say all he has done, confesses not listening to his mother and locking his sister in the closet, the same sins his now deceased friend Jacob was going to confess. The Priest declares Sam’s sins to be absolved. The scene changes to the empty cross in the field and then fades to black.

Cast

Awards and nominations

YearCeremonyAwardResultCategory
2011 Academy Awards Oscar Nominated [2] Short Film (Live Action)
2011 MPSE Golden Reels Awards Verna Fields Award NominatedBest Sound Editing in a Student Film
2010 Student Academy Awards Student OscarWonHonorary Foreign Film

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Confession (religion)</span> Acknowledgment of ones sins

Confession, in many religions, is the acknowledgment of sinful thoughts and actions. This may occur directly to a deity or to fellow people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penance</span> Repentance of sins

Penance is any act or a set of actions done out of repentance for sins committed, as well as an alternate name for the Catholic, Lutheran, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox sacrament of Reconciliation or Confession. It also plays a part in confession among Anglicans and Methodists, in which it is a rite, as well as among other Protestants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mortal sin</span> Sinful act which can lead to damnation

A mortal sin, in Christian theology, is a gravely sinful act which can lead to damnation if a person does not repent of the sin before death. It is alternatively called deadly, grave, and serious; the concept of mortal sin is found in both Catholicism and Lutheranism. A sin is considered to be "mortal" when its quality is such that it leads to a separation of that person from God's saving grace. Three conditions must together be met for a sin to be mortal: "Mortal sin is sin whose object is grave matter and which is also committed with full knowledge and deliberate consent." The sin against the Holy Spirit and the sins that cry to Heaven for vengeance are considered especially serious. This type of sin is distinguished from a venial sin in that the latter simply leads to a weakening of a person's relationship with God. Despite its gravity, a person can repent of having committed a mortal sin. Such repentance is the primary requisite for forgiveness and absolution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Absolution</span> Traditional theological term for the forgiveness experienced by Penance

Absolution is a theological term for the forgiveness imparted by ordained Christian priests and experienced by Christian penitents. It is a universal feature of the historic churches of Christendom, although the theology and the practice of absolution vary between Christian denominations.

In the Catholic Church, the Seal of Confession is the absolute duty of priests or anyone who happens to hear a confession not to disclose anything that they learn from penitents during the course of the Sacrament of Penance (confession). Even where the seal of confession does not strictly apply – where there is no specific serious sin confessed for the purpose of receiving absolution – priests have a serious obligation not to cause scandal by the way they speak.

<i>Confiteor</i> Confessional prayer in the Roman Catholic, Lutheran, and Anglican churches

The Confiteor is one of the prayers that can be said during the Penitential Act at the beginning of Mass of the Roman Rite in the Catholic Church. It is also said in the Lutheran Church at the beginning of the Divine Service, and by some Anglo-Catholic Anglicans before Mass.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penitential Act</span> Form of confession of sinfulness practiced in Roman Catholicism

The Penitential Act is a Christian form of general confession of sinfulness that normally takes place at the beginning of the celebration of Mass in the Roman Rite of the Catholicism, as well as in Lutheranism. In Anglicanism, it is said as part of the Eucharist, but it is not considered an official sacrament.

The Sacrament of Penance is one of the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church, in which the faithful are absolved from sins committed after baptism and reconciled with the Christian community. During reconciliation, mortal sins must be confessed and venial sins may be confessed for devotional reasons. According to the dogma and unchanging practice of the church, only those ordained as priests may grant absolution.

Queen Elanor's Confession or Queen Eleanor's Confession is a traditional English-language folk ballad. Although the figures are intended as Eleanor of Aquitaine, Henry II of England, and William Marshal, the story is entirely fictional.

A confession is an acknowledgement of fact by one who would have otherwise preferred to keep that fact hidden.

Lay confession is confession in the religious sense, made to a lay person.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Absolution of the dead</span> Prayer or declaration regarding a dead persons sins

Absolution of the dead is a prayer for or a declaration of absolution of a dead person's sins that takes place at the person's religious funeral.

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Absolution is a 1978 British thriller film directed by Anthony Page and written by playwright Anthony Shaffer. The film stars Richard Burton as a priest who teaches at a boys' school and finds one of his favourite students is playing a nasty practical joke on him. He sets out to investigate the prank and stumbles upon a dead body, leading to his life spiralling out of control. The film also stars Dai Bradley, Dominic Guard and the Scottish comedian Billy Connolly, in his debut film role.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Confession (Lutheran Church)</span>

In the Lutheran Church, Confession is the method given by Christ to the Church by which individual men and women may receive the forgiveness of sins; according to the Large Catechism, the "third sacrament" of Holy Absolution is properly viewed as an extension of Holy Baptism. Unlike Roman Catholicism, the practice of private confession in the Lutheran Church is voluntary, not obligatory.

<i>Into Temptation</i> (film) 2009 indie film by Patrick Coyle

Into Temptation is a 2009 independent drama film written and directed by Patrick Coyle, and starring Jeremy Sisto, Kristin Chenoweth, Brian Baumgartner, Bruce A. Young and Amy Matthews. It tells the story of a sex worker (Chenoweth) who confesses to a Catholic priest (Sisto) that she plans to kill herself on her birthday. The priest attempts to find and save her, and in doing so he plunges himself into a darker side of society.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tanel Toom</span> Estonian director and screenwriter (born 1982)

Tanel Toom is an Estonian director and screenwriter.

<i>The Confession</i> (TV series) 2011 American TV series

The Confession is a 10-part web series created by Kiefer Sutherland, written and directed by Brad Mirman, and starring Sutherland and John Hurt. It premiered on Hulu on March 28, 2011. Each episode is between five and seven minutes long. It co-stars Daniel London, Max Casella, and Michael Badalucco.

<i>Confession</i> (1955 film) 1955 British film by Ken Hughes

Confession, released in the United States as The Deadliest Sin, is a 1955 British drama film directed by Ken Hughes and starring Sydney Chaplin, Audrey Dalton and John Bentley.

<i>Kamaal Dhamaal Malamaal</i> 2012 Indian film

Kamaal Dhamaal Malamaal is a 2012 Hindi-language comedy drama film directed by Priyadarshan. It stars Nana Patekar, Paresh Rawal, Om Puri, Asrani, Shreyas Talpade, Shakti Kapoor and Nyra Banerjee. The film has been produced by Percept Picture Company. The story is adapted from Malayalam film Marykkundoru Kunjaadu written by Benny P. Nayarambalam. It was released on 28 September 2012. This film is the reboot of the 2006 comedy film Malamaal Weekly.

"Mari Kelenn" is a Breton gwerz extant in only two 19th-century versions. The song tells the story of a young woman who is abused by her father and bears him seven children, all of whom she kills. For penance, she is locked in a chest for one year or for seven years ; in both cases, after the penance is done a piece of her heart is left in the chest, but Mari is gone. The coming of a white dove signifies she is absolved.

References

  1. "NFTS graduation film The Confession receives Oscar Nomination". NFTS. Retrieved 2 February 2011.
  2. "Nominees for the 83rd Academy Awards". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . Retrieved 2 February 2011.