In this adaptation of the novel by the French Catholic writer Georges Bernanos, Bresson made his first film without professional actors and moved a step further toward his mature style with the concern for the life of the soul in a fallen world. The title figure lives a rather squalid existence in his isolated parish. When not subject to scorn and humiliation, he is simply ignored by those to whom he wishes to minister. Bresson makes of his lead actor, Claude Laydu – an incandescent presence – the first example of the successful use of a non-actor as a “model” (to use the Bressonian term). The film’s unsparing use of realism and telling detail renders palpable both the priest’s suffering and his grace. – DP