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Fran?ois Ozon

By the Grace of God – The Sin of Silence

October 22, 2019 by Darrel Manson

?Deep down I knew. We all knew. We did nothing.?

Although it is not limited to the Catholic Church, sexual molestation of minors by clergy is an issue that continues to burden the church. In France, a notable example centered on a priest, Bernard Preynat, and the Archbishop of Lyon, Cardinal Barbarin, who oversaw the coverup. Fran?ois Ozon?s film By the Grace of God, is a fictionalized version of this affair of how a group of survivors challenged the church and its silence. The film won the Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Festival.

The film is not so much about the sexual assaults as it is about the way the institutions of the church failed to act to stop them. The first victim we meet is Alexandre (Melvil Poupaud), an ardent Catholic, who discovers that the priest who molested him as a child is still working and has access to children. He writes to Cardinal Barbarin (Fran?ois Marthouret) to raise his concerns, sure that the Cardinal, who has spoken out against pedophilia, will respond. Alexandre is invited to tell his story to R?gine Maire (Martine Erhel), the diocese?s psychologist who dealt with victims. He also asks to meet with the Cardinal, and they begin a correspondence about the process. Alexandre writes to the police who open an investigation, but because the statute of limitations has expired, there is nothing that the police can do with Preynat?unless they find more recent cases.

Such a case is Emmanuel (Swann Arlaud), who has written on the website. He is convinced to go to the police and press charges. Now the archdiocese faces even more attention. Press is following the story now. More and more victims make their stories known. Eventually seventy people will tell of their molestation. During much of this time Fr. Preynat continues to serve in the church.

When Alexandre meets Fran?ois (Denis M?nochet) another victim of Fr. Preynat, they begin to form a community, using a website to encourage others to tell their stories. This increases pressure on the archdiocese. Alexandre is invited to meet with Preynat, with R?gine Maire in attendance. Preynat admits to everything, but claims he has gotten help. He does not, however, ask for forgiveness.

I found it of some interest that the film marks the passing of time (it covers about a two year span), not by a calendar, but via the liturgical year, noting various feasts and holidays as they pass. This creates an atmosphere that reminds us that this is not so much a secular issue as it is a religious one. And although secular issues, such as statutes of limitation, play a role in the film, the story we see deals with spiritual concepts in the lives of the characters.

Chief among those spiritual issues is the question of forgiveness. The question arises frequently about if the victims can or should forgive Prevnat. Forgiveness is a key part of Christian life, but it is often very hard to do. This conflict is evident in the scene in which Alexandre and Preynat, meet. At the end of the meeting, R?gine Maire has the three of them join hands to pray the Our Father. When the forgiveness clause comes up, Alexandre is unable to say the words.

Another recurring issue is faith. Two of the three victims we follow continue to be devout. Only Fran?ois has renounced faith and the church. For Alexandre and Emmanuel, they are clear that they are doing this for the church, not to the church. They see what has happened not just as something that has harmed them, but has harmed and continues to harm the church itself. Their continued faith in the face of betrayal?first by Preynat, and continuing with the institutional lack of response?is a reminder that the church and the Gospel are powerful in people?s lives. But that makes the betrayals all the more treacherous. By the end of the film, the faith of those who have come forward is being tested greatly.

As I mentioned at the beginning of this review, clergy sexual misconduct is not limited to the Catholic Church, even if they get most of the press about it. This film brings the victims to the foreground. It does not set out to bash the church, but rather to shine a light on the institutional abuses that prevent accountability and by so doing fail to bring healing to victims and to the church itself.

The film has some title cards at the end of the film that give the status of Fr. Preynat and Cardinal Barbarin as of the time the film was completed. However, since that time there have been new developments. An ecclesiastical trial was held that led to the defrocking of Preynat. Cardinal Barbarin continues to hold the title of Archbishop of Lyon, but has been removed from all administrative oversight of the diocese.

Photos courtesy of Music Box Films

October 22, 2019 by Darrel Manson Filed Under: Film, Reviews Tagged With: Catholic Church, clergy sexual abuse, Fran?ois Ozon, French, pedophile

Frantz – Is It Ever Right to Lie?

March 24, 2017 by Darrel Manson

?Don?t be afraid to make us happy.?

Fran?ois Ozon?s Frantz is set in the aftermath of the First World War. It is a wonderfully visual film. (It won a C?sar Award (the French equivalent of an Oscar) for Best Cinematography. That may surprise some since most of the film is in black and white (but some of the best looking black and white you may see), with portions of the film shifting to color. There is a sense in which this reflects the moods of the film. The heavier black and white reflecting the post-war gloom, and the scenes with color representing a bit of a return to life and joy.

In a village in Germany, Anna (Paula Beer) mourns her fianc? Frantz who died in the trenches. She still lives with his parents who are also in deep mourning. One day she sees a man named Adrien (Pierre Niney) at Frantz?s grave. She discovers that he is French. He tells her that he was Frantz?s friend from before the war. They spent time together in Paris where Frantz studied.

Adrien faces opposition from the townsfolk who are still hurting from having lost the war. As one local put it, ?Every Frenchman is my son?s murderer.? But the stories that Adrian shares with Anna and Frantz?s parents begin to bring joy into their lives yet again. It is almost as if Adrien is a substitute for their lost loved one. Perhaps Anna may even find a chance for love again.

The foundation of the story is the devastation that war brings. Everyone in this story suffers from the war. Anna and Frantz?s parents (and many of the townspeople) grieve the loss of the young men killed in the war. (This is a loss felt in France as well when the story moves there.) For the Germans in general, the loss of the war was a terrible blow to their national pride. Adrien has his own sense of pain that comes from the war that eats at his sense of self even though he was on the victorious side.

But at the half way point of the film there is an important revelation that puts everything into a new light. From that point on we begin to think of the lies that have been told, and the new lies yet to be told. In a world in which ?alternate facts? seem to be acceptable to some, we may wonder if there might be a place for lies in the world or if only truth is to be considered valuable. When the truth comes out, it then becomes a question of if that truth should be shared or if the lies should be continued?perhaps even built upon?for the happiness of those who have found comfort in those lies.

Can happiness and peace be built upon a lie? Even Frantz?s grave, we learn, is a bit of a lie. His body is actually in a mass grave somewhere. But for his family, this little plot in the cemetery gives them a focus for their grief and a way to honor him.

When Anna discovers the truth about Adrien, she must decide whether to share that truth with Frantz?s parents. The ?alternate? truth that Adrien represents has brought joy into Frantz?s family. Anna is placed in the position of knowing the truth, but knowing the consequences if that truth is known. Should she, for the sake of her family, withhold that truth and let the lie that has been spun continue. Should she make that lie even more elaborate in order to bring even more happiness to those who had found peace in the lie? And what is the burden ?on Anna of carrying the truth and the lie as she seeks to move on in her own life? It is easy to say that truth always is better than a lie. But is it?

Photos courtesy of Music Box Films

March 24, 2017 by Darrel Manson Filed Under: Film, Reviews Tagged With: Black and White, Fran?ois Ozon, France, Germany, Paula Beer, Pierre Niney, World War I

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