Grâce à Dieu

On the surface, this is an impressive movie. It is meticulously scripted and covers much ground with regard to the case of French Catholic priest accused of child sexual abuse. Writer-director Francois Ozon also manages to assemble a competent cast of actors for the various roles like Josiane Balasko as Irene, mother of one of the victims. My problem with this film is its very clinical approach, which may have its strengths; however, i did not find myself moved, touched or feeling sympathy for the characters when i should have been experiencing those emotions while watching the movie. By the end, instead of feeling emotionally walloped, i was left cold. And while the film is stylishly done, nothing stands out other than the shocking expose of the Catholic church which however is nothing new for anyone who has followed the news. For its various merits, this film deserves praise while from this disappointed viewer, the film receives grace.

I have followed the events described in this movie through the French press and internet. I knew therefore about the facts and they did not appear as a revelation to me. What surprised me was the quality of the movie. It was very good. It was not an attack towards the institution of the Catholic Church per se. Nevertheless it is critical towards the Church and not as balanced and neutral as it wants to appear. I think that many people will evaluate the film based on their gut feeling for the Catholic Church. The faithful will be offended disbelieving the veracity of the offenses described and attributing them to a hostility against the institution while those in the other end of the spectrum will be happy to see how corrupt the Church really is confirming thus their pre-conceived notions.

Artistically though I consider this movie slightly superior to the Ocsar winning "Spotlight" which dealt with a similar case although on a grander scale and through the view of the investigating journalists rather than the victims. I watched it at the cinema of my neighborhood the first day it opened in Greece. I think that the established film critics of the Athenian press mildly underrated it. This has a positive aspect because when I watched it myself I was pleasantly surprised by the overall quality of the movie. We were only six in the theatre understandable perhaps because it was Thursday. Greeks are relatively pious by European Union standards and perhaps piety deterred them from going to such a movie. On the other hand they are mostly adherents of the Orthodox variety of Christianity and therefore consider Roman Catholics somewhat heretical and thus they would be glad to watch their dirty linen washed in public. Sociological explanation cuts both ways but personally I wish it finds a large audience in Greece and worldwide because it has the artistic quality and the social concern required to touch thinking people conversant with the problems relevant to excessive deference towards ecclesiastical authority.

This film deals with a French topical subject with subtlety and sensitivity: in a general way, the trial of the Catholic Church against pedophilia and more particularly, that of Father Preynat and Cardinal Barbarin. It highlights an anger (and/or a deep malaise, according to the characters) at first latent then more and more perceptible. The analogy with the American movie Spotlight (2015) is obvious, the main subject being the same; but the way of revealing the truth differs.

As a synthesis: very good actors directed by a François Ozon as sober as efficient.

This movie details the story of each main character, but it ends up being very long.

The story is good and compelling, I have no doubt that it happened in real life, it has excellent character development but that makes the film very long. The movie is basically about even though the sexual abuse stories are different, they have many things in common, including the trauma it leaves the victims and how their entire lives change because of it. The ending seemed very weak compared to the development of the stories, it was not very satisfactory. This film is also a critique of the silence of the church in the face of complaints of sexual abuse by priests and how these complaints are treated in the religious community and in society in general.

It may seem boring and pointless, but for me it is a story of courage, trauma and admiration for the victims who speak out.

I saw "By the Grace of God" at the Philadelphia Film Festival and although I'd never consider it an enjoyable film, it's a necessary film...one you really should see. While there have been other films about pedophile priests, and why not since the problem seems so universal, this one is not a documentary but instead makes a few tweaks for cinematic sake...though the facts are essentially true.

In addition to being an important film, director Ozon also crafted it well and managed to get excellent and realistic performances from the cast. In other words, the victims seemed real...not like actors. Overall, an amazingly well made film...one of the better ones I've seen in recent years.