The Altar Boys

Ministranci

Poland | 2025 | 110 min

Language: Polish

Subtitles: English

Not for persons under 12

Director(s): Piotr Domalewski

Script: Piotr Domalewski

Cast: Tobiasz Wajda, Bruno Błach-Baar, Mikołaj Juszczyk, Filip Juszczyk, Daria Kalinchuk, Sławomir Orzechowski, Tomasz Schuchardt, Kamila Urzędowska

Production: Aurum Film

Distribution: Aurum Film

Drama | Comedy | Coming of Age

Youth Society Friendship Critics Choice

Horizons

Screenings:

A small Polish town profoundly influenced by Catholicism is the setting Piotr Domalewski has chosen for The Altar Boys, which follows in the wake of four young altar boys bound together by friendship... A moving portrait of the naivety of "childlike" faith – an inverted reflection of the adult world, wrestling with misery, violence and brutal reality - The Altar Boys is first and foremost an accomplished film about friendship and a surprising "coming of age" tale whose feel-good narrative doesn’t skirt over humanity’s grey zones, zigzagging fairly skilfully between comedy and drama. Like a younger brother – in a whole other style – of Kirill Serebrennikov’s Disciple, Piotr Domalewski’s movie also avails itself of a masterful mise en scène approach and wonderful visuals (courtesy of Piotr Sobocinski Jr as director of photography) to deliver its hymn on the complexities of good and bad.

Fabien Lemercier / Cineuropa

Updated 2026-07-30 17:30:10 UTC