By the Grace of God (2018)

The three men, friends of childhood, will cross, compare their personal experiences and question their life of couple, family and professional.

Director:

François Ozon

Writer:

François Ozon

Stars:

Melvil Poupaud, Denis Ménochet, Swann Arlaud

2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Melvil Poupaud	...	Alexandre Guérin
Denis Ménochet	...	François Debord
Swann Arlaud	...	Emmanuel Thomassin
Éric Caravaca	...	Gilles Perret
François Marthouret	...	Cardinal Barbarin
Bernard Verley	...	Bernard Preynat
Josiane Balasko	...	Irène
Martine Erhel	...	Régine Maire
Hélène Vincent	...	Odile Debord
François Chattot	...	Pierre Debord
Frédéric Pierrot	...	Le capitaine Courteau
Aurélia Petit	...	Marie Guérin
Julie Duclos	...	Aline Debord
Jeanne Rosa	...	Dominique Perret
Amélie Daure	...	Jennifer

Storyline

The portrait of 3 men today, Alexandre, François and Gilles. Quarantine, age of challenges and male interrogations. The three men, friends of childhood, Alexander the Catholic, François the fighter and Gilles the skinned alive, will cross, compare their personal experiences and question their life of couple, family and professional.

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Plot Keywords:

pedophilia | written by director | lyon france | year 2014 | priest | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Official Sites:

Official Website

Country:

France Belgium

Language:

French

Release Date:

20 February 2019 (France)

Also Known As:

Alexandre

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mandarin Films, FOZ, Mars Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

137 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The movie depicting real-life events that were still on trial, Father Preynat's lawyers tried in the week before release to prevent the film from hitting cinemas, at least until the judgment and despite its Silver Bear won at the Berlin Film Festival a few days prior. They invoked the fact that Father Preynat is presumed innocent until convicted. The court decided to allow the movie to be released, arguing the priest had already pleaded guilty.

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Connections

References Reservoir Dogs (1992)

User Reviews

The deadly sins of the French Catholic Church

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.