Procession

Name: Procession
Genre: Documentary
Released: November 19, 2021
Duration: 116 min
Rating: 90
Cast: Dan Laurine, Ed Gavagan, Joe Eldred, Michael Sandridge, Mike Foreman

2021

METASCORE

Universal acclaim based on 13 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 11 Ratings

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6.3

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6.3	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 11 Ratings

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Procession

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Movie Details & Credits

Netflix | Release Date (Streaming): November 19, 2021 | R

Starring: Dan Laurine, Ed Gavagan, Joe Eldred, Michael Sandridge, Mike Foreman, Tom Viviano

Summary: Six midwestern men — all survivors of childhood sexual assault at the hands of Catholic priests and clergy — come together to direct a drama therapy-inspired experiment designed to collectively work through their trauma. As part of a radically collaborative filmmaking process, they create fictional scenes based on memories, dreams andSix midwestern men — all survivors of childhood sexual assault at the hands of Catholic priests and clergy — come together to direct a drama therapy-inspired experiment designed to collectively work through their trauma. As part of a radically collaborative filmmaking process, they create fictional scenes based on memories, dreams and experiences, meant to explore the church rituals, culture and hierarchies that enabled silence around their abuse. In the face of a failed legal system, we watch these men reclaim the spaces that allowed their assault, revealing the possibility for catharsis and redemption through a new-found fraternity.… Expand

Director: Robert Greene

Genre(s): Documentary

Rating: R

Runtime: 116 min

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

Alissa Wilkinson

Nov 19, 2021

In letting them retell those stories their way, and asking us to watch, Procession dares its audience to not look away. It calls us, in other words, to join the healing community, not just with vague aspirations but with our actual eyes. To play our roles as audience members and then take what we learn and bring it to others. Read full review

100

The Observer (UK) Simran Hans

Nov 13, 2021

What could have been a disaster in the hands of a less sensitive film-maker ends up an extraordinary feat of care, collaboration and creativity. Read full review

100

Robert Abele

Nov 19, 2021

Observational documentaries are by nature intrusive, but Procession, miraculously, never feels that way — you sense humane engagement, not imposition. Read full review

Todd Gilchrist

Nov 9, 2021

Greene’s film explores not just the ability of art to repair emotional and sometimes physical injuries but also the resiliency of the human spirit and the solidarity of a group of individuals collaborating to provide comfort for themselves and each other through shared, unimaginable pain. Read full review

David Fear

Nov 22, 2021

It’s a harrowing documentary, to be sure, but also healing in a way that doesn’t go for easy emotional button-pushing, or play down the white-knuckle struggle they endure while processing all of it. Read full review

Dom Sinacola

Nov 9, 2021

Procession feels like the surest execution of Greene’s voice. Read full review

Chuck Bowen

Sep 18, 2021

Robert Greene’s gaze is an attempt to accord his subjects the dignity of attention, utilizing cinema as a form of emotional due process. Read full review

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User Reviews

Richard552

Aug 10, 2022

most notably drawing upon statutes of limitation to skillfully evade prosecution. $1 to buy a Netflix account, Google search: vtvshare

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Brent_Marchant

Jan 22, 2022

Sexual abuse of minors by Roman Catholic priests is undoubtedly a serious subject, and undertakings that address it deserve to be accorded due respect. One might even say that criticisms of such works is inherently bad form. However, for director Robert Greene's documentary about the effortsSexual abuse of minors by Roman Catholic priests is undoubtedly a serious subject, and undertakings that address it deserve to be accorded due respect. One might even say that criticisms of such works is inherently bad form. However, for director Robert Greene's documentary about the efforts of six abuse survivors to come to terms with this issue through drama therapy, the film's uneven and somewhat disorganized treatment of its material tends to bog down the flow of their story. To a great degree, this is probably due to the picture's attempt at examining far too much ground in the allotted time, occasionally making the narrative appear scattered and unfocused and giving short shrift to certain aspects. To its credit, the film's dramatic re-creations of the survivors' abuse incidents are moving, shocking and powerful, generating genuinely heartfelt emotions. In addition, a number of individual interview sequences reveal appalling details about the victimizers and the Church's manipulative practices to avoid liability, most notably drawing upon statutes of limitation to skillfully evade prosecution. Indeed, the film makes a damningly strong case against the dangers of organized religion, particularly its ploys to fearfully manipulate and control parishioners, especially among the young and vulnerable. Yet it's because of that, unfortunately, that this production fails to convey its message as clearly and effectively as it could have. A better attuned approach would have worked much better in making this the bombshell it might have been.… Expand

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