Stunning performance by Laydu

gkbazalo

Diary of a Country Priest reminded me of Clouzet's Le Corbeau (The Raven) in it's depiction of ostracism and deception in a small French village.  The new village priest (Claude Laydu) is stymied in every attempt to make contact with the inhabitants of the village.  Young and old, rich and poor, male and female reject him.  He has one bright moment when a young man, a member of the Foreign Legion, speaks to him as a comrade.   The main thing for me in this film was the performance of Laydu.  He is not imposing physically, but he gradually makes the character of young priest, who is not even named in the film, one of the most memorable in all films.   I also enjoyed Bresson's Les Dames du Bois de Boulogne and look forward to seeing other of his films.

score /10

gkbazalo 19 July 2004

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw0042727/