Watching: The Passion According to the Polish Community of Pruchnik

Overview

In the small town of Pruchnik in the southeastern part of Poland villagers gather every year on Good Friday to "punish" Judas for his betrayal of Jesus. A larger-than-life straw puppet with a hooked nose is dragged through town, beaten, decapitated, burnt and thrown in the river. The film explores the thin line between pagan and Christian rites while exposing the sometimes brutal and blatantly anti-semitic undercurrents of Christian practice.