I have decided to deviate from the alphabetical list as Filmspotting is doing a Robert Bresson marathon and 4 of the 5 films they are watching are in the 1001 list. Seemed silly not to join in with their mini marathon.
First up is the first in Bresson's 'prison trilogy'. It tells the story of a young priest who, despite being gravely ill, takes up priestly duties in the country parish of Ambricourt. Here he tries fecklessly to convert the godless parishioners back to faith. He becomes involved in the complex relationships of a local count, his wife, his mistress and his daughter.
It's an intensely personal tale of the priest's solitude and his personal prison. There isn't a great deal of dialogue and the story is narrated by the priest through excerpts from his diary. Several time he enters houses and then the scene is cut back to him leaving, with more exposition about what went on inside.
The soundtrack is sparse too. There is little music, but a great use of sound effects. The film is actually verging on a silent movie. There is an awful lot of mugging.
I get that it all adds to the solitude of the priest, but it was all a bit much for me and I found it largely tedious. I can appreciate the look of the film though and I'm just hoping his later works are a little less somnolent!
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