Diary of a Country Priest
Dir: Robert Bresson
France, 1951, 110minmins, 35mm
Cast: Claude Laydu, Jean Riveyre, André Guibert
Perhaps Bresson’s most overtly Catholic film, yet hardly an evocation of mere catechism or even simple piety. Instead, Bresson’s protagonist, a priest alone and beset in his hostile rural surroundings, pulls us into his struggles with doubt, with prayer, with himself and his fellow men, with God – in short, with the very nature of faith. Based on the novel by Georges Bernanos, a magnificent essay that makes religion its resonant question rather than a simple answer.
1951 Venice Film Festival, International Award
1952 French Syndicate of Cinema Critics, Best Film
Further reading:
Diary of a Country Priest and the stylistics, From Robert Bresson by James Quandt (Toronto: Cinematheque Ontario, 1998)
Remarks
1. Unless otherwise stated, all films (except English-speaking films) are subtitled in English.
2. For screenings at ALL commercial cinemas, tickets are available at URBTIX till 5:00pm one day before respective screenings. After that, tickets will be available only at the box office of the screening venue on the day of screening, subject to availability.
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