Léon Morin, Priest
| Léon Morin, Priest | |
|---|---|
 Film poster | |
| Directed by | Jean-Pierre Melville |
| Screenplay by | Jean-Pierre Melville |
| Produced by | Georges de Beauregard Carlo Ponti |
| Starring | Jean-Paul Belmondo Emmanuelle Riva Irène Tunc |
| Cinematography | Henri Decaë |
| Edited by | Jacqueline Meppiel Nadine Trintignant Marie-Josèphe Yoyotte |
| Music by | Martial Solal |
| Distributed by | Lux Compagnie Cinématographique de France |
Release date |
|
Running time | 117 minutes |
| Country | France |
| Language | French |
| Box office | 1,703,758 admissions (France)[1] |
Léon Morin, Priest (French: Léon Morin, prêtre)[2] is a 1961 film directed and scripted by Jean-Pierre Melville, and starring Jean-Paul Belmondo and Emmanuelle Riva. Belmondo was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actor. It is based on the 1952 Prix Goncourt-winning novel The Passionate Heart (French: Léon Morin, prêtre) by Béatrix Beck.
Plot
In a town in the French Alps during the Occupation, Barny (Riva)[3] is a young, wayward, sexually frustrated widow, living with her little girl. She is also a communist militant who long ago decided that the easiest way was the best. One day she enters a church, randomly chooses a priest (Belmondo)[2] to confess to and, while in confessional, attempts to provoke him by criticizing Catholicism. Instead of being affronted, the priest engages her in an intellectual discussion regarding religion. The priest is Leon Morin, young, handsome, smart and altruistic. He invites Barny to continue the conversation outside of confessional. She begins regularly seeing him and is impressed by his moral strength, while he makes it his mission to steer her onto the right path.
Cast
- Jean-Paul Belmondo as Léon Morin
- Emmanuelle Riva as Barny
- Irène Tunc as Christine Sangredin
- Nicole Mirel as Sabine Levy
- Gisèle Grimm as Lucienne
- Marco Behar as Edelman
- Monique Bertho as Marion
Critical reception
Roger Ebert added the film to his Great Movies list in 2009.[4]
Home video
The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray by The Criterion Collection in July 2011.[5]
References
- ^ Box office information for film at Box Office Story
- ^ a b Léon Morin, Priest at IMDb
- ^ Indiana, Gary. "Léon Morin, Priest: Life During Wartime". Criterion Collection. Retrieved 2014-08-28.
- ^ "Leon Morin, Priest Movie Review". Roger Ebert. October 21, 2009.
- ^ "Léon Morin, Priest". The Criterion Collection.
External links
- Léon Morin, Priest at IMDb
- Leon Morin, Priest at Le Film Guide
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