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(Sous le soleil de satan) (French) Directed by Maurice Pialat (Loulou, Police, Le Garçu)
Cast: Gérard Depardieu, Sandrine Bonnaire, Maurice Pialat
Plot: (from Rotten Tomatoes) An adaptation of Georges Bernanos' 1926 novel about a Catholic priest's quest for spiritual purity in the modern world. A simple man, troubled by the worldly excesses of the contemporary priesthood, Donissan practices an extreme ascetism, which includes various rituals of self-mortification. His religious fervor confounds his superior, who is unable to decide if Donissan is a fanatic or a saint. One night, on a lonely country road, Donissan is accosted by a mysterious traveler who may or may not be Satan. Afterwards, the priest discovers in himself miraculous powers: the capacity to see into other people's minds and souls, even an ability to raise the dead. But when his encounter with an amoral teenage girl, pregnant by a lover she has just murdered, ends in tragedy, Donissan senses that his "divine" gift may be a source of terror and death, rather than spiritual salvation.
Awards: Maurice Pialat won the Golden Palm at Cannes Film Festival '87 for this film. It also got 8 1988 César award nominations including Best Director (Pialat) and Best Actor (Depardieu).
US/UK Status: Available in the US on VHS (French with English subtitles). Not available in the UK.
Links:
Imdb.com listing
Rotten Tomatoes page
1WordFilms.com page
Cinemaniacs page (in French)
On This Site:
The video and poster for this film is available in our Shop
Some very nice stills from the movie are in our Picture Gallery
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