Diary of a Country Priest (1951)
"Journal d'un curé de campagne" (original title)

A young priest taking over the parish at Ambricourt tries to fulfill his duties even as he fights a mysterious stomach ailment.

Director:

Robert Bresson

Writers:

Georges Bernanos (novel), Robert Bresson

Stars:

Claude Laydu, Jean Riveyre, Adrien Borel

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 7 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Claude Laydu	...	Priest of Ambricourt (Curé d'Ambricourt)
Jean Riveyre	...	Count (Le Comte)
Adrien Borel	...	Priest of Torcy (Curé de Torcy) (as Andre Guibert)
Rachel Bérendt	...	Countess (La Comtesse) (as Marie-Monique Arkell)
Nicole Maurey	...	Miss Louise
Nicole Ladmiral	...	Chantal
Martine Lemaire	...	Séraphita Dumontel
Antoine Balpêtré	...	Dr. Delbende (Docteur Delbende) (as Balpetre)
Jean Danet	...	Olivier
Gaston Séverin	...	Canon (Le Chanoine) (as Gaston Severin)
Yvette Etiévant	...	Femme de ménage
Bernard Hubrenne	...	Priest Dufrety
Léon Arvel	...	Fabregars
Martial Morange	...	Deputy mayor (L'Adjoint)
Gilberte Terbois	...	Mrs. Dumouchel (Mme Dumouchel)

Storyline

In Ambricourt, a young Priest (Claude Laydu) arrives to be the local parish priest. The community of the small town does not accept him, and although having a serious disease in the stomach, the inexperienced and frail priest tries to help the dwellers, and has a situation with the wealthy family of the location.

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Plot Keywords:

priest | stomach | parish | disease | wound | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

5 April 1954 (USA)

Also Known As:

Diary of a Country Priest

Filming Locations:

Château, Equirre, Pas-de-Calais, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Union Générale Cinématographique (UGC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Tobis-Klangfilm)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

First film of Claude Laydu.

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Quotes

Curé d'Ambricourt: All is grace.

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Connections

Referenced in Taxi Driver (1976)

User Reviews

The kind of integrity and faith so strong and real, it frightens even the church

A young priest has been assigned his first parish in a village somewhere in the North of France. Right from the first, essential opening shot in beautiful black and white, we instinctively get a sense of his isolation from any other human being. As the final credits rolled by, I don't know why I had the impulse to restart the DVD, and I watched the first 5 minutes of the movie again, realising just how much of a harbinger of extreme loneliness the opening frames are. Diary of a Country Priest is in good part about loneliness - the extreme physical, emotional and intellectual isolation of those who embark on an earnest mission, with an inability to compromise and a sincerity (with its resulting emotional vulnerability) which both frightens and repulses those who aren't ready to receive it. I was especially thankful to Bresson for having left us with a film about a priest which didn't involve his tiresome sexual issues in any shape or form - what a refreshing change! In the role of the young parish priest of Ambricourt, young Claude Laydu was in his debut role here - though he very occasionally shows his inexperience as an actor, he is nonetheless remarkable in the title role, and his sensitive, silently suffering, candid boyish face will remain with me for quite a while. It's extraordinary that such a movie, so completely devoid of any mass appeal or commercial potential, should have found someone willing to fund it. This kind of thing restores one's faith in the integrity and vision of certain cinematic enterprises.