Monsieur Vincent

A very good biopic about a great man,Saint Vincent de Paul,whose charity,abnegation,generosity and humanity were so huge that Queen Anne d' Autriche used to call him "the kingdom's conscience" Filmed in black and white ,in a style close to early Bresson,the film features many unforgettable scenes : the reunion with the noble ladies who are willing to "do something" but whose world is far from them ,the Poor;the scene on the royal galley where the legend tells that Monsieur Vincent took the place of an exhausted galley slave .

Pierre Fresnay,whose unquestionable faith would turn to bigotry in his late parts ("le Défroqué" "Tant d'Amour Perdu" )finds here his lifetime part.Sometimes it seems that the Saint rose from the dead.

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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.

I saw this film at St. John's Prep in Brooklyn, NY, around 1959. The school was run by the Vincentian Fathers (Congregation of Missions-CM). I was surprised to see that Jean Anouilh had written the screenplay; he also wrote Becket. It was somewhat episodic. But I remember each one. He was not a patsy. Food line for the needy. He stops one man and feels his muscles and asks what's wrong with him. Instead, he steers him to a job on the docks. A job is a job and one could argue about unionizing later.

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).

A beautiful film for must be grateful to director and lead actor. Because, obvious, it represents more than an inspired biopic. No doubts, in the splendid interpretation of pierre fresnay, it offeres a slice from the life of Vincent de Paul.

But you feel this film as an interogation for yourself, again and again.

Because it is a wise crafted definition of the relation with the other, poor, ill, alone, brutal as result of cruel conditions of life, idealistic or lazy.

The discover of social aspects, from the men on the boat to the poor neighbors, from the abandoned babies to the oldnes and close death are the good points of this real moving film , so modern, including the technique aspects, so honest, grace including the impressive job of mister Fresnay.

More than a simple to defined masterpiece.

But a profound useful ball of questions.