By the Grace of God (2018)
(Grâce à Dieu)
Country: FR/BEL
Technical: col 137m
Director: François Ozon
Cast: Melvil Poupaud, Denis Ménochet, Swann Arlaud, Bernard Verley, Frédéric Pierrot
Synopsis:
A victim of childhood abuse at a Catholic summer camp approaches the Lyons diocese years later to have the priest defrocked. Eventually his quest reaches the media and a growing number of victims announce and organise themselves; their new objective: to expose the conspiracy of silence in the Church itself.
Review:
Coming soon after Spotlight, and a good number of years after his muse Almodóvar's Bad Education, Ozon's take on ecclesiastical child abuse surprisingly opts for a case study approach. With its gratuitously ironic title, and exhaustive story structure centred on three very different victims, it runs the gamut of possible reactions: loss of faith in the church, relationship dysfunction, repression leading to over-compensating resentment and desire for revenge. In all cases the enduring damage suffered by these men is clearly visible, thanks to proficient performances, but telegraphed in scenes of domestic discord, parental clashes and a frustration inflicted on a garage drum kit which skirt the generic. Worthy and well made (apart from one patently empty espresso cup), and with all its kinkiness on the wrong side of the fence, this is Ozon on autopilot.
(Grâce à Dieu)
Country: FR/BEL
Technical: col 137m
Director: François Ozon
Cast: Melvil Poupaud, Denis Ménochet, Swann Arlaud, Bernard Verley, Frédéric Pierrot
Synopsis:
A victim of childhood abuse at a Catholic summer camp approaches the Lyons diocese years later to have the priest defrocked. Eventually his quest reaches the media and a growing number of victims announce and organise themselves; their new objective: to expose the conspiracy of silence in the Church itself.
Review:
Coming soon after Spotlight, and a good number of years after his muse Almodóvar's Bad Education, Ozon's take on ecclesiastical child abuse surprisingly opts for a case study approach. With its gratuitously ironic title, and exhaustive story structure centred on three very different victims, it runs the gamut of possible reactions: loss of faith in the church, relationship dysfunction, repression leading to over-compensating resentment and desire for revenge. In all cases the enduring damage suffered by these men is clearly visible, thanks to proficient performances, but telegraphed in scenes of domestic discord, parental clashes and a frustration inflicted on a garage drum kit which skirt the generic. Worthy and well made (apart from one patently empty espresso cup), and with all its kinkiness on the wrong side of the fence, this is Ozon on autopilot.
(Grâce à Dieu)
Country: FR/BEL
Technical: col 137m
Director: François Ozon
Cast: Melvil Poupaud, Denis Ménochet, Swann Arlaud, Bernard Verley, Frédéric Pierrot
Synopsis:
A victim of childhood abuse at a Catholic summer camp approaches the Lyons diocese years later to have the priest defrocked. Eventually his quest reaches the media and a growing number of victims announce and organise themselves; their new objective: to expose the conspiracy of silence in the Church itself.
Review:
Coming soon after Spotlight, and a good number of years after his muse Almodóvar's Bad Education, Ozon's take on ecclesiastical child abuse surprisingly opts for a case study approach. With its gratuitously ironic title, and exhaustive story structure centred on three very different victims, it runs the gamut of possible reactions: loss of faith in the church, relationship dysfunction, repression leading to over-compensating resentment and desire for revenge. In all cases the enduring damage suffered by these men is clearly visible, thanks to proficient performances, but telegraphed in scenes of domestic discord, parental clashes and a frustration inflicted on a garage drum kit which skirt the generic. Worthy and well made (apart from one patently empty espresso cup), and with all its kinkiness on the wrong side of the fence, this is Ozon on autopilot.