Léon Morin, prêtre (1961)

Somehow I had an impression that Léon Morin, prêtre (prêtre = priest) was a movie of religious discussion between a priest and one of his flocks. Yes, it's the main part of the movie, but there are much more than that. There are details about what happened in 1942-1945: the fate of the Jews, the difficulty to get shoes, collaborators, and some few good Germans. Set in occupation days, started when Italian soldiers were still in France, followed by the entrance of Germans, and ended until the French liberation. The story takes place in a small village where Barny (Emmanuelle Riva), a widow who works in a school's administration, goes to a church to have his half-Jewish daughter baptized. Barny herself doesn't believe in God. In the church, she meets Léon Morin (Jean-Paul Belmondo) in the confession box and after a brief discussion, he tells her to come to his place to borrow books. Since then, once a week, Barny always comes to the priest's place to borrow and return books and have discussions with him. Later, she is converted and falls in love with the young priest.



The movie is wonderful and I found myself attached to the screen the first time I watched it. Also enjoyed the religious discussions. Compared to other Jean-Pierre Melville works I have seen, where usually women are rare, in this one men are rare - if the soldiers and townspeople aren't included; and there are much more dialogues. In a time when a war is on, I suppose all young men must be going to the battles or hiding in the woods (as Resistance) , and that makes Léon Morin the most handsome man in the village and all women are attracted to him. Since the story is told from Barny's point of view, it would be interesting to know what he thinks, what goes on in his mind. Is he really a saint or he almost falls to temptation? He notices the women, too: he advices Barny to paint her toenails, sees that Marion is missing one earring and since he covers her knees, it means he notices them in the first place. I'm convinced that Morin enjoys his meetings with Barny and among all women in the movie, she is his equal. Is Barny converted because she sees the truth or because she loves the priest?