Diary of a Country Priest (Journal d'un curé de campagne, French; 1951)
Director: Robert Bresson
It is one of the most depressing movies I ever saw. No one character in the whole presentation actually smiles, perhaps once.
It is a highly philosophical one questioning life and God through the eyes of a young but sick parish priest posted in a village.
It is not the best of times for the Man of God. Your boyish look is a ridicule point for the young girls in his class to play pranks. The clergyman is not welcomed by the villagers who have given up on the church probably due to poor produce from the fields. The winter and his tummy upset is helping either. Attendance at the service is dismal. The only attendee, a governess with a countess seem to be in sorrow but the priest cannot seem to get across to her. The countess' daughter, Chantal, is a young girl so full of anger. She curses the governess for having an affair with her father, the Count. She is naturally angry with her father too. She abhors her mother for not doing anything in spite of being aware of the union! Again, the young priest cannot get through to talk to Chantal.
Throughout this time, through his stomach pains, loss of appetite and his uncertainty of his capacity as a priest, he narrates the story in the background as he writes his diary. Sometimes, he also wonders what God's plans are and what he is supposed to. His senior priests tell him not to get involved too much with people's affairs but instead pray more.
The priest's reputation in the village is also bad. Due to his erratic behaviour due to pain and pathetic diet of dry bread and wine, he is labelled as an alcoholic.
The priests sees a local doctor for his ailment. This doctor, an all timer, is a disillusioned fellow. He is still practicing ancient method of treatment oblivious of sterility and use of modern medicine. He is depressed because no patients see him anymore. This doctor, a nihilistic, who asks the priest to just accept his ailment, commits suicide later!
The priest's meeting with the countess revealed further depressing news. She has not got over the news of the death of her young son and still lives in living memory of him. She had even given up the belief of God. The priests managed to talk her into the fold again in a compassionate sermon. Chantal overheard part of their conversation. When the countess died in her sleep the following day, the priest is accused of being too harsh in his coaxing.
The young parish continues his work, in spite of his sufferings, telling himself that the Lord had suffered more. He decides to visit a specialist in town.
During a motorcycle ride to the train station, the free riding against the gush of the wind makes him question himself whether he had wastefully given up his youth for the work of God. This same youthful desire to be free is the same thing that made Chantal act the way she acts, he thought.
The bad news of him afflicted with stomach cancer was given to him. We walks aimlessly trying to explain the meaning of all these. He is also sad that he cannot continue His work.
He stops at a friend's place. This friend had taken a break from the seminary. He was living in a dilapidated condition, living in sin, unwed with a lady. One particular scene that fascinated me, probably used by communist in their rhetoric , is when the friend's partner returns from work. She apologised to the priest for being a poor homemaker. She had to leave for work as early as 5am and return home late, too late to clean up the house. When the priest asked her of the nature of her job, she replied , "Cleaning lady!"
This was the idea brought up by individuals who fought for workers' rights. A worker who toils day and night doing repetitive work endangering his health and life gets peanuts for his services. The capitalist bosses laughed all the way to bank because they took the risk. Workers who make fancy phones cannot afford a simple phone.
Coming back to the story, the priest took his work his seriously trying to change the world as much as he could. He took all the brickbats as a challenge. On his dying bed, he deduced that 'God is not a torturer' and 'All is grace'.
It is said that the young priest (Claude Laydu) is actually a very bubbly chap. He was a boisterous host in a children's game show. In this film, the director told him not to show any emotion as he thought actors were just models. It is the character that actually determines the outcome!
Director: Robert Bresson
It is a highly philosophical one questioning life and God through the eyes of a young but sick parish priest posted in a village.
It is not the best of times for the Man of God. Your boyish look is a ridicule point for the young girls in his class to play pranks. The clergyman is not welcomed by the villagers who have given up on the church probably due to poor produce from the fields. The winter and his tummy upset is helping either. Attendance at the service is dismal. The only attendee, a governess with a countess seem to be in sorrow but the priest cannot seem to get across to her. The countess' daughter, Chantal, is a young girl so full of anger. She curses the governess for having an affair with her father, the Count. She is naturally angry with her father too. She abhors her mother for not doing anything in spite of being aware of the union! Again, the young priest cannot get through to talk to Chantal.
Throughout this time, through his stomach pains, loss of appetite and his uncertainty of his capacity as a priest, he narrates the story in the background as he writes his diary. Sometimes, he also wonders what God's plans are and what he is supposed to. His senior priests tell him not to get involved too much with people's affairs but instead pray more.
The priest's reputation in the village is also bad. Due to his erratic behaviour due to pain and pathetic diet of dry bread and wine, he is labelled as an alcoholic.
The priest's meeting with the countess revealed further depressing news. She has not got over the news of the death of her young son and still lives in living memory of him. She had even given up the belief of God. The priests managed to talk her into the fold again in a compassionate sermon. Chantal overheard part of their conversation. When the countess died in her sleep the following day, the priest is accused of being too harsh in his coaxing.
The young parish continues his work, in spite of his sufferings, telling himself that the Lord had suffered more. He decides to visit a specialist in town.
During a motorcycle ride to the train station, the free riding against the gush of the wind makes him question himself whether he had wastefully given up his youth for the work of God. This same youthful desire to be free is the same thing that made Chantal act the way she acts, he thought.
The bad news of him afflicted with stomach cancer was given to him. We walks aimlessly trying to explain the meaning of all these. He is also sad that he cannot continue His work.
This was the idea brought up by individuals who fought for workers' rights. A worker who toils day and night doing repetitive work endangering his health and life gets peanuts for his services. The capitalist bosses laughed all the way to bank because they took the risk. Workers who make fancy phones cannot afford a simple phone.
Coming back to the story, the priest took his work his seriously trying to change the world as much as he could. He took all the brickbats as a challenge. On his dying bed, he deduced that 'God is not a torturer' and 'All is grace'.
It is said that the young priest (Claude Laydu) is actually a very bubbly chap. He was a boisterous host in a children's game show. In this film, the director told him not to show any emotion as he thought actors were just models. It is the character that actually determines the outcome!
No comments:
Post a Comment