Under the Sun of Satan

1987 [FRENCH]

Action / Drama / Fantasy

7
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 61% · 9 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 61% · 500 ratings
IMDb Rating 6.7/10 10 4056 4.1K

suicide based on novel or book supernatural priest religion dean

Plot summary

Satan tempts Father Dossignan, who is trying to save the soul of a young girl who killed one of her lovers.

Director

Maurice Pialat Photo
Maurice Pialat

Top cast

Sandrine Bonnaire Photo
Sandrine Bonnaire as Mouchette
Gérard Depardieu Photo
Gérard Depardieu as Donissan
Jean-Christophe Bouvet Photo
Jean-Christophe Bouvet as Le maquignon
Frédéric Auburtin Photo
Frédéric Auburtin as Le jeune prêtre
720p.BluRay 1080p.BluRay
896.89 MB
1204*720
French 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
24 fps
1 hr 37 min
Seeds 4
1.63 GB
1792*1072
French 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
24 fps
1 hr 37 min
Seeds 5

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by r-c-s 8 / 10

classic, enigmatic french movie

I saw the original french version and i must admit dialogues were challenging for me at times. On the background of early 1900's rural France, the movie revolves around the spiritual dilemma of a young priest ( what's the real meaning of service?) under the guidance of a dean, who soon starts to suspect his pupil might be sort of saint...a fool...or both. Pialat explores the thin line behind folly and sainthood. It's all a gray area where shades of gray detract from the meaning of both light & darkness. Overall, not a "viewer's" movie...little to see. Dialogues are difficult, and at times intricate; there are no conventional emotions, no plot spins. The "plot" is not really such one...there are subplots, such as a young girl with many lovers ( gets pregnant by one, has sex with another while dreaming of reaching Paris to become the mistress of a MP, etc )...there is another subplot about a dying child and peasants' devotion bordering superstition... i wanted to watch this because i wanted to watch another movie by Pialat...his style may not entertain everybody the same way, though.Someone makes a point about Bonnaire being no "attractive" lass and here i have to agree ( she's not "ugly", yet not attractive as well). The point, however, is that (see the other Pialat's movie "à nos amours" where Bonnaire stars again ) that proves the director's dedication to portraying "real" people within reasonable circumstances, without Hollywood gimmicks and porn stars wanna-be's eager to show some skin ( i always think: skin is OK, but then got for true porn).I can also guess translations & adaptations may have resulted in a mess.
Reviewed by norbert-plan-618-715813 8 / 10

Harsh and outstanding

This film is harsh and lacks subtlety. There is no music, and then suddenly for transitions shots or more exactly for Gérard Depardieu's displacement, a thundering music (strongly in front in the sound bank) of Henri Dutilleux.Otherwise, this universe is completely unknown to us: the life of a priest; the concept of evil; the concept of Satan; the moods of a priest who no longer believes in God, but in the Devil; the bigotry of the bourgeois or simple people and the power of a priest in the land of simple people. The film shows the controlling role of the church.Otherwise what keeps us awake is Maurice Pialat's direction, which pulls the viewer in, often by filming something that is partly off-camera, behind a door, in the background. Many shots are beautiful and very composed, based on obscurities.The strength of the film is the conviction of the actors. Gérard Depardieu is impressive. Sandrine Bonnaire too. All the actors are outstanding, in spite of or thanks to very literary, unrealistic dialogues with a certain beauty.
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