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This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

Robert Bresson is known for his stark and stripped-down worlds, where actors were employed as mere 'models' would rather than conduits of expression. The script and story would be where the emotion would resonate, and this would create a rather cold, blank exterior, when in fact there would be great power, grace and humanity lurking beneath its icy surface. Diary of a Country Priest, Bresson's third feature, was the first time the French director would fully embrace this approach, going so far as hiring non- professional actors for the bulk of his cast. Claude Laydu, who plays the titular priest, gives a performance of such complexity that it is often cited as the greatest in the history of motion pictures. Scenes would be re-shot if Bresson felt his actors were, well, acting too much, and Laydu often looks like he's suppressing so much he's going to explode.When you understand what Bresson's goal was with Diary of a Country Priest, Laydu's performance becomes almost transcendent. The unnamed priest, who arrives in his new parish of the small commune of Ambricourt at the beginning of the film, is a weak, sickly presence. He is young, but small, gaunt and gently-spoken. Suffering from an unknown stomach ailment, he gets by on a diet of bread, fruit and wine. Ambricourt's inhabitants are mainly made up of poor but tough peasants and farmers, whose lives are so gruelling that they have little time for God. His arrival is met with scorn and distrust, and their reaction triggers feelings of rejection in the young priest. Even the children laugh at him, and Mass is attended by a sole woman whose intentions are far from Christian. He confides in the Priest of Torcy (Adrien Borel), a respected, straight-talking man of the cloth, who mentors the bewildered young man on what is expected of him. "A priest should never be loved," he is told, but seems perplexed at the cruelty of the world around him, and the lack of love within it.The film really centres around a conversation between Laydu and the Countess (Rachel Berendt), an ageing woman who has never gotten over the death of her son, and whose husband is openly having an affair with a younger woman. The result of this conversation has the village gossiping, and it is this that sparks a remarkable show of faith by the young priest. Bresson's bleak approach compliments these moments well, refusing to over-blow the priest's epiphany before he inevitably starts to wrestle with it, recording all of his thoughts in a small diary. Laydu's performance is masterful, and it was surprising to learn that he later developed a puppet show for children, a world away from his sullen presence here. Alongside Dreyer's The Passion of Joan of Arc and Rossellini's Francesco, giullare di Dio, Diary of a Country Priest is a masterpiece about Catholicism made by an agnostic or atheist, using the Bible's teachings and the institution itself as a way to tell more humanistic story of human anguish and struggle.

I have now watched three Bresson films with 'A Man Escaped' and 'Pickpocket' being the ones that I watched prior to this one. Each film has a male protagonist going through intense inner struggle but each of these three men have different sensibilities and worldly outlook. The priest in 'Diary of a Country Priest' is a physically petite and a psychologically broken character. He is burdened with doubt and is troubled by the hostility in his surroundings.Unfortunately just like the case was with the other two films, I found myself appreciating the film a whole lot more than finding it lovable. Just like 'A Man Escaped' I found myself frustrated with the overtly expository nature of the voice-over narration in the film. I find Bresson's exploration of faith and the priest's pursuit of the meaning of life and existence interesting, but I find Bresson's distant style with the coldness of movement(both in terms of acting and storytelling) very jarring considering the intimate nature of the subject itself.Bresson remains a director that I respect and whose importance in the history of French cinema, I acknowledge. However he also still remains for the time being, a filmmaker whose works I find frustrating.

the atmosphere. it is the pillar of a film about the fight of a priest for transform a community. and his steps to the true. adaptation of a well known novel by Bernanos, the film has the gift to be more than illustration. but an ash portrait of an universe far by basic values, cold, harsh, bitter, cruel. and that transforms the film in an useful key for understand not only the tools of neo-realism or the art of director but the manner to define the small things who saves a life. a film about duty and profound solitude. without cure or solutions or options. maybe, without hope. but important as seed of self sacrifice who could change a single life. a film who must see. for remind traits of old French cinema. or as start for discover a real interesting novel.

In "Diary Of A Country Priest", Robert Bresson has made an almost impeccable film. He has neglected nothing in creating a nearly perfect masterpiece, and it is hard to determine its most outstanding quality. The photography was brilliant in its gloominess and the acting was real - so real that it gave the film unusual authenticity. Bresson also co-wrote the script, which was intelligent and lyrical in places and perhaps the best part of the film. And a previous reviewer has mentioned that he is a master of the mise-en-scene.An introspective young priest is assigned to a small parish in the French countryside - so small that he complains that only one parishioner attends daily mass - and brings some unwanted baggage with him. He is socially inept, a drab young fellow who makes little or no impression on anyone. He also doubts his commitment to his calling and is unable to gather any enthusiasm for praying. Lastly, he is ill with an undisclosed stomach ailment. The parish is poor, the parishioners unfriendly and nothing he does seems to satisfy anyone.I don't want to give too much away, but suffice it to say that the film stays with you long after it is over and the haunted and haunting young cure lingers in your mind. It is ultimately a downer, but the cinematic experience is nothing less than exhilarating. It played recently at the Film Forum in NYC.