Gerard Depardieu is a devout country priest who spends his time talking to his
imaginary master, doubting himself and beating the crap out of himself with
chains. If a normal person did this they'd be thrown in the nuthouse, but
somehow he made a career out of it. One evening, while walking through a
field, Satan comes up and starts talking shit to him. Next thing you know
Depardieu confronts a teenage girl who has two lovers...well, that is until she
murdered one of them! Stuff happens and Depardieu continues to talk to his
invisible friend a lot.
As dull as that sounds, I actually liked this movie. It's beautifully
photographed and Depardieu's performance is quite demanding since the majority
of his lines are just him standing there talking to no one, but he does an
extremely believable job portraying a highly conflicted individual struggling
constantly (with every thought and deed) with his relationship with God.
As a man of zero faith I have no belief in God, Satan, Zeus, Nanabozho, the
Flying Spaghetti Monster or any other deity, so I'm probably not the best person
to review this film, but despite my lack of faith I was still moved by Gerard's
tortured performance and that of Sandrine Bonnaire as the troubled girl.
Recommended.