Word: fresnay
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...novel based on this provocative fragment of history, French moviemakers have put together a masterly picture. Subtly but forcefully, with compassion, humor and a spirituality that never grows sanctimonious, it explores the struggle within the layman-priest (Pierre Fresnay) and the clash between the impulsive religious ardor of the islanders and the authority of a church jealous of its sacred functions...
...Sexton Fresnay, ragged, unschooled and in awe of the pulpit, agrees against his will to take up a few of the priestly duties. But he is pushed deeper & deeper into the role by the demands of his flock. He rejects the girl (Andrée Clement) who wants to marry him, moves into the rectory, reluctantly listens to confessions, fearfully goes through the motions of giving absolution...
...Fresnay's anguished conscience struggles against his growing sense of mission and pride of accomplishment. The islanders persuade him to complete the imposture by celebrating a Mass. Before he can go through with it, a priest (Jean Brochard) arrives from the mainland, touches off a conflict that brings the movie to an end in a final surge of dramatic power...
Miracle look artless and crude. Director Jean (Symphonic Pastorale) Delannoy can also take credit for the rare cinematic feat of evoking deep religious feeling without sugar & molasses. His constant perception of the story's human values, and Actor Fresnay's superbly sensitive playing make God Needs Men the best foreign-language film to reach the U.S. in at least a year...
French offerings lead the list once more. Louis Jouvet, the best actor in movies anywhere, stars in Lady Paname, which opened last week at the 55th Street Playhouse, near Seventh Avenue. God Needs Men is at the Paris, 58th and Fifth, with Pierre Fresnay in the lead role. Both Jouvot and Fresnay are masters in French with gentle cynicism...