Most helpful customer reviews
|
|
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
A difficult but rewarding film., April 17 1999
By A Customer
This is certainly a difficult film, requiring both considerable concentration and familiarity with the less sunny, more tortured aspects of Catholic theology. The main character is a simple but saintly priest who is painfully aware of the sway that evil holds over the world and whose desire to liberate other souls from the clutches of the devil is so overwhelming that he is prepared to give his own soul in exchange. The paradox is that for this priest the devil is very real and tangible (he even dreams he encounters him in the form of a traveller while walking through the fields at night) while God seems disturbingly distant and inaccessible. His struggle against evil leads to constant self-torture, but is motivated by boundless pity for those whom the devil has cheated out of happiness and salvation. The dialogue is dense but can have an enormous impact. This is a very, very literary movie (which can put off quite a few viewers) based on a novel by the great French Catholic writer Georges Bernanos, which in turn was inspired by the real-life Jean M. Vianney, a parish priest in a tiny French rural village that is now revered as a saint. Not for everyone, but highly recommended for those interested in some of the most difficult issues raised by religion.
|
Share your thoughts with other customers: 
|
|
|
(1 customer review)
See all customer reviews...
