Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
Claude Laydu | ... | Priest of Ambricourt (Curé d'Ambricourt) | |
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Jean Riveyre | ... | Count (Le Comte) |
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Adrien Borel | ... | Priest of Torcy (Curé de Torcy) (as Andre Guibert) |
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Rachel Bérendt | ... | Countess (La Comtesse) (as Marie-Monique Arkell) |
Nicole Maurey | ... | Miss Louise | |
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Nicole Ladmiral | ... | Chantal |
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Martine Lemaire | ... | Séraphita Dumontel |
Antoine Balpêtré | ... | Dr. Delbende (Docteur Delbende) (as Balpetre) | |
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Jean Danet | ... | Olivier |
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Gaston Séverin | ... | Canon (Le Chanoine) (as Gaston Severin) |
Yvette Etiévant | ... | Femme de ménage | |
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Bernard Hubrenne | ... | Priest Dufrety |
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Léon Arvel | ... | Fabregars |
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Martial Morange | ... | Deputy mayor (L'Adjoint) |
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Gilberte Terbois | ... | Mrs. Dumouchel (Mme Dumouchel) |
In Ambricourt, an idealistic young Priest (Claude Laydu) arrives to be the local parish priest. He attempts to live a Christ-like life, but his actions are misunderstood. The community of the small town does not accept him, and although having a serious disease in the stomach, the inexperienced and frail priest tries to help the dwellers, and has a situation with the wealthy family of the location. Written by Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
A young priest has been assigned his first parish in a village somewhere in the North of France. Right from the first, essential opening shot in beautiful black and white, we instinctively get a sense of his isolation from any other human being. As the final credits rolled by, I don't know why I had the impulse to restart the DVD, and I watched the first 5 minutes of the movie again, realising just how much of a harbinger of extreme loneliness the opening frames are. Diary of a Country Priest is in good part about loneliness - the extreme physical, emotional and intellectual isolation of those who embark on an earnest mission, with an inability to compromise and a sincerity (with its resulting emotional vulnerability) which both frightens and repulses those who aren't ready to receive it. I was especially thankful to Bresson for having left us with a film about a priest which didn't involve his tiresome sexual issues in any shape or form - what a refreshing change! In the role of the young parish priest of Ambricourt, young Claude Laydu was in his debut role here - though he very occasionally shows his inexperience as an actor, he is nonetheless remarkable in the title role, and his sensitive, silently suffering, candid boyish face will remain with me for quite a while. It's extraordinary that such a movie, so completely devoid of any mass appeal or commercial potential, should have found someone willing to fund it. This kind of thing restores one's faith in the integrity and vision of certain cinematic enterprises.