Monsieur Vincent

The French movie about Father Vincent de Paul, who was the first to establish soup kitchens and homeless shelters, was honored by the Academy Awards by an Oscar for November 1947's "Monsieur Vincent." The filmmakers of picture on the French saint, who founded the Daughters of Charity, was handed the honorary award for best foreign language film before the Academy officially began giving out the Oscars in that category in 1956.

Co-written by Jean Anouilh, who later wrote the play 'Becket,' "Monsieur Vincent" was the second to win the honorary Oscar for the best foreign film (English films not included), the first being director Vittorio De Sica's 1946 "Shoeshine." From 1947 until 1955, the Academy handed out Oscars annually (except for 1953) to the top non-English language movie. "Monsieur Vincent" also won the Grand prix of French Cinema, and was nominated at the Golden Globes for Promoting International Understanding.

"Monsieur Vincent" opens with the Vincent de Paul (Pierre Fresnay) assigned to a dilapidated church in a town overwhelmed by fears of a pandemic. The new priest quickly jumps into action, administering aid and comfort to an infected woman, with no concerns about his own health. So extensive was Vincent's work, the movie sees him organizing charities for the poor, including the Foundation of the Charity, which was the forerunner for elderly care and medical healing for war victims. Vincent also founded a home for abandoned children and the 'Brotherhood of Charity,' a food pantry where those more fortunate donated to the poor. He's had numerous hospitals named after him, and was the spiritual advisor for the Queen of France (Germaine Dermoz), who became very familiar with Vincent's miraculous work.

Pierre Fresnay, 49, as Monsieur Vincent jumped into stage and film acting after serving three years in the French Army during World War One, appearing in Alfred Hitchcock's 1934 "The Man Who Knew Too Much" and Jean Renoir's 1937 "La Grande Illusion." Alec Guinness listed Fresnay as his favorite actor.

Film reviewer Steven Greydanus notes "Monsieur Vincent" only scratches the surface of this remarkable man. "No special background knowledge is necessary to perceive the spirit of the man's life, and the spirit of the man himself," wrote Greydanus. The movie, he said, "is a beautiful, inspiring film, one that rewards repeated viewing."

This was only the second movie to be honored with a Special Oscar as the year's Best Foreign-Language Film, after Vittorio De Sica's SHOESHINE (1946). In retrospect, while a fine achievement in itself, it is not quite in the top rank of French productions (even those made around this same time) – for the record, the country would receive two more such wins, both for director Rene' Clement, i.e. THE WALLS OF MALAPAGA (1949) and FORBIDDEN GAMES (1952), before the category was officially incorporated into the 1956 ceremony.

The film is a religious biopic, the subject being the priest revered for his unselfish aid towards the poor/moribund community in the 17th century and who would eventually be canonized as Saint Vincent De Paule; incidentally, the national old people's home (where my paternal grandfather expired in 2002) is named after him. The success of the movie rests more with Pierre Fresnay's commanding central performance (which earned him the Best Actor award at the Venice Film Festival), Jean-Jacques Grünenwald's rousing score and Claude Renoir's splendid cinematography (that said, the print I watched seemed unduly bright) than the narrative itself (though scripted by famed playwright Jean Anouilh) – which tells a pretty standard tale of a man being initially misunderstood and scorned, then endorsed and abetted. Even so, a few scenes certainly do stand out: the priest getting relentlessly stoned as he lends a helping hand to a would-be plague victim; taking the place of an exhausted galley slave; listening to the 'miserable' sounds of fellow residents at his lodgings; the fights between the myriad mangled patients for a place on the hospital's over-crowded beds, etc.

The supporting cast here is notable for showcasing future stars such as Claude Chabrol regulars Michel Bouquet and Jean Carmet. By the way, given the subject matter, I was reminded throughout of two of my favourite film-maker Luis Bunuel's best efforts, namely NAZARIN (1959; which, like MONSIEUR VINCENT itself, is included in the Vatican's 45-title list of "Some Important Films"!) and VIRIDIANA (1961).

Pierre Fresnay stars as the famous Catholic saint. This film is a biography of the man but it doesn't really follow his entire life--just from the time he founded his charity for the poor until his death. So, exciting stuff in his life before this isn't even mentioned--such as his being captured and enslaved by Barbary pirates!! I think they chose to do that in order to tighten the focus of the film. Instead, it focused on the selflessness of the man, the wretchedness of the poor and the many good things he got his lady followers to do.

The film is very simply made and the film seems straight forward and without the excesses of some religious movies of the day. In other words, Vincent is a man who is driven--but with no halos or crazy music or insane stares into space. I liked the film and it's a religious movie that is approachable and excels with its simplicity.

This film of Maurice Cloche was financed by 'the faithful' via national subscription and covers forty years in the life of Vincent de Paul who was canonised in 1737 for his sterling, tireless and utterly selfless work amongst the poor and down trodden of seventeenth century France. It is by nature episodic but that does not lessen its power to move. Cloche has been fortunate enough to secure the services of Pierre Fresnay. The chance to play the title role must have seemed manna from Heaven to this brilliant, mercurial actor who was not exactly riding high in the popularity stakes following investigations into alleged collaboration during the Occupation. His performance is one of the treasured few that transcend the art of film acting. Humanity and humility abound in his characterisation with never a trace of self-righteousness. The cast is uniformly excellent notably Aime Clariond, Jean Debucourt, Lisa Delamare and Gabrielle Dorziat. Claude Renoir has created 'painterly' images whilst Rene Renoux and Rosine Delamare contribute their customary excellence of production and costume design. Superlative title music by Jean-Jacques Grunenwald who had already shown his credentials by composing music for two 'religious' films of Robert Bresson and who was to become titular organist at Saint Sulpice in Paris. Excellent dialogue by playwright Jean Anouilh. Ironically the film poses the question as to whether those who receive charity are grateful or in fact despise those who are dispensing it. Revealing indeed is Vincent's instruction to one of his novices that the poor must be induced to forgive you for the bread you give them! It also questions the moral ambiguity of the Ladies of Charity who shun a foundling that they regard as being conceived in sin. Deservedly heaped with awards including the Oscar for Best Foreign Film before that category became a competitive affair this piece can truly be called a 'labour of love'.

There are many heart-rending scenes in this film, like taken directly from the reality of the 17th century with all its infernos of gutter life of the poor, the hungry, the sick and the invalids - they are all here, collected in Monsieur Vincent's hospitals for everyone in need, in whatever condition they are, and his hospitals and almshouses are always crowded, even with beggars and invalids fighting over beds that just have become vacant after one patient has died. Pierre Fresnay makes an unforgettable impersonation of the great pioneer of charity, penetrating deeply into the mind and character of the humble priest, who basically had to stand alone all his life against the overwhelming inhumanity of man, and even of women. It is a rich film, not hesitating to expose every aspect of the saint's difficult life and all his adversities, as even the beginning of the film brings you right down the shocking abyss of the horrible recklessness of man, as he gets stoned by the villagers, hiding behind their closed windows, when he comes to take his office as a vicar in a village that has been without a priest for ten years, all the villagers having turned savage as a result. It is a walk through a hell that never ends, and when Monsieur Vincent finally feels his end is coming (at almost 80 years), his dominating feeling is of insufficiency, that he hadn't done enough, that he hadn't really done anything at all during his 50 years of constant overwork, only for the poor and the endless crowd of interminable and eternal incurable misery...