Catching up on Pialats

Last updated on: June 7, 2005 at 9:14 am by Peter T. Chattaway

Catching up on Pialats 2005-06-07T09:14:00-07:00 Peter T. Chattaway

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

I never did blog the other Maurice Pialat films I saw, so I may as well catch up now. You may recall that the series began with an early film of his that showcased his talent for directing children, which I enjoyed, followed by a couple of mid-career films that focused on illicit sexual behaviour, which I didn’t really get into. That duality continued in the latter part of the series.

Soon after producing his first feature film, Pialat produced a seven-part mini-series called House in the Woods (1971), about a rural family that looks after other people’s children during the First World War. We have seen so many movies about the trenches, the trenches, the trenches that it was really interesting to see a film set in France in which the war itself seems to happen almost entirely off-stage. One episode does end with a biplane crashing into a field, but even here, the focus is not so much on the “action” as it is on the aftermath, and the sense that the world goes on even after all the seemingly important and exciting stuff has come to pass; the episode ends with a single, lonely soldier standing guard by the wreckage. I noticed that a number of scenes ended with the camera lingering on an empty set after all the characters had passed through; e.g., the townsfolk celebrate the end of the war by marching through the streets, and after they have all walked by, the camera stays on the empty street for just a few seconds longer than you might have expected. As with individual scenes, so with the series as a whole: the story seems to come to an end with the sixth episode, as all the children leave the little house where they have spent the war, and everything seems so final that, during the intermission, I asked the theatre staff if maybe they had got the reels mixed up; but no, it turns out the seventh episode takes place mainly in the big city, as one child tries to adjust to his new, “normal” life. FWIW, Pialat himself plays the village schoolteacher, and his facility with children is certainly on display here; so is his mastery of ensemble casts and naturalistic direction. I’d like to see this series again some time, but I’m not sure how that would be possible.

After that, it was back to the 1980s and Pialat’s collaboration with Gerard Depardieu. Police (1985) co-stars Depardieu as a bigoted cop and Sophie Marceau, who was then only 18 and who vowed never to work with Pialat again, as a woman who is involved with Tunisian drug dealers and who begins to play on the cop’s affections even after all the psychological bullying he gives her down at the police station; Sandrine Bonnaire also appears as one of the local prostitutes. The screenplay was based on a story by Catherine Breillat, who is known for sexually obsessed films of her own like Fat Girl (2001; my review), and there are moments where the film takes politically incorrect pokes at the rise of feminism (the male detectives taunt their female counterparts, and when one of them is slapped by a male civilian, the male cops fail to come to her defense, telling her to forget it), but the most provocative thing about this film is probably its portrayal of ethnic tensions in France — something that continues to make the news, and thus makes this film seem as timely as ever.

And then, after all that, finally the film I had been waiting for — Under the Sun of Satan (1987), a film about troubled faith based on a novel by Georges Bernanos, who also wrote the stories that became the basis for Robert Bresson’s Diary of a Country Priest (1951) and Mouchette (1967). The film stars Depardieu as a priest whose encounter with a murdering adulteress played by Bonnaire — and with a figure who appears to be Satan himself — convinces him that this world is ruled by the devil, and I have to say I would probably have to see the film again before I could comment much on it. Suffice to say I was relieved to see that this was probably the least sex-obsessed of Pialat’s films since, well, House in the Woods. And FWIW, quite coincidentally, when I came home after the movie, my wife decided to watch Diary of a Country Priest — and I couldn’t join her, as one Bernanos story per evening was quite enough!

Alas, family obligations, a friend’s wedding, and other things prevented me from seeing Graduate First (1978), Van Gogh (1991) and Le Garçu (1995), which is a shame, since only one of those is available on video here. For now, at any rate.

Uncategorized

Previous Post

June 6, 2005

Canadian box-office stats -- June 5

Next Post

June 7, 2005 Andrzej Wajda's war movies

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Anglican Planet Articles BC Christian News BC Report Bible Movies Bible Review Blog Books & Culture Campus Times CBC Radio Christianity Today ChristianWeek Essays Faith Today Festival Cinemas Guide Film Journals Georgia Straight Interviews MB Herald National Catholic Register Salvationist Today's Christian Two Chairs Ubyssey Uncategorized Vancouver Courier Vancouver Sun

Select a Month August 2025 April 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 May 2024 February 2024 December 2023 May 2023 March 2023 November 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 September 2019 July 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 April 2012 January 2012 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 November 2003 October 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 January 2003 December 2002 November 2002 August 2002 July 2002 June 2002 May 2002 March 2002 January 2002 December 2001 November 2001 September 2001 August 2001 July 2001 June 2001 April 2001 March 2001 February 2001 December 2000 November 2000 October 2000 September 2000 August 2000 July 2000 June 2000 May 2000 April 2000 March 2000 January 2000 October 1999 August 1999 May 1999 April 1999 February 1999 January 1999 December 1998 November 1998 October 1998 August 1998 July 1998 June 1998 April 1998 March 1998 January 1998 November 1997 September 1997 July 1997 June 1997 April 1997 March 1997 February 1997 January 1997 December 1996 October 1996 September 1996 June 1996 March 1996 February 1996 January 1996 April 1995 November 1994 September 1994 September 1991

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Where did Jacob and his family settle in Egypt?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Thebes Cairo Goshen Memphis