Under the Sun of Satan

 

Based on the novel by Georges Bernanos, Sous le soleil de Satan (Under the Sun of Satan) is the story of a priest who is tormented by the world in general despite his gift to do good amidst a tumultuous time in 1920s France. Directed by Maurice Pialat and screenplay by Pialat and Sylvie Danton, the film is an exploration of faith and a priest’s attempt to save a young woman and others from sin and the evils of the world. Starring Gerard Depardieu, Sandrine Bonnaire, and Maurice Pialat. Sous le soleil de Satan is an eerie and evocative film from Maurice Pialat.

The film follows a priest working at parish in a small town in 1920s France as he is consumed with doubt and uncertainty as he also deals with the chaos created by a young woman who seeks help only to be tempted by her own vices. It is a film that is an exploration of faith in a tumultuous world where this priest has just been ordained by the Catholic Church though he is convinced that he isn’t ready to be a priest. Especially as he asks God about his worth after learning about what this young woman had done as she is the daughter of the local brewer. The film’s screenplay by Maurice Pialat and Sylvie Danton explores the many doubts that Donissan (Gerard Depardieu) is going through as he would punish himself at times as the first act is about Donissan’s insecurities but also this story about Mouchette (Sandrine Bonnaire) who has been having affairs with a local marquis and a doctor as she learns she is pregnant with the former’s baby but things have gotten complicated as she’s also the local brewer’s daughter.

Donissan and Mouchette wouldn’t meet until the halfway point in the film in its second act as the former would have this encounter with a horse dealer (Jean-Christophe Bouvet) who isn’t exactly who he seems as he is a much darker figure that would play into Donissan’s faith. Especially as he would add more doubt to Donissan upon his meeting with Mouchette where he realizes what she had done as he wants her to confess in order to save herself yet she isn’t interested as she is filled with her own turmoil in her life. It would add to these things that Donissan would see as he turns to his mentor Menou-Segrais (Maurice Pialat) who is trying assure Donissan in that he can be a good priest though he also becomes aware of Donissan’s mental issues. The film’s third act plays into the things that Donissan had seen as well as his own struggles with faith as people see him as someone they can go to for a miracle but he sees it more as a burden.

Pialat’s direction is entrancing for the way it plays into a man’s struggle with faith in this small French town set in the 1920s as it is shot on different locations in the small towns of Montreuil-sur-Mer and Fressin. Pialat’s usage of wide and medium shots don’t just play into the locations that the characters are in but also into Donissan’s disconnect with the world around him as he feels like he is unworthy to serve God. Pialat also uses a lot of long shots for some of the conversations including the ones that Mouchette would have with her lovers where Pialat’s close-ups add to the striking look of the film. Even in the conversation between Donissan and Mouchette is added with intrigue as they talk with a destroyed house in the background as it play into the chaos that both characters are dealing with in their respective lives. There are also these intense acts of violence that is committed by Mouchette as it plays into her troubled state as well as the fact that she’s a young woman that feels like she has no control of her emotions and desires.

Pialat also plays into these elements of surrealism as it relates to Donissan’s encounter with the horse dealer as the look of the film changes into something far colder as the film would progress into something much bleaker. Yet, there are these elements of hope that the small town would see in Donissan but it only adds to his own anxieties. Even as he tends to a family with a boy that is dying as it plays into his desires to be worthy of God’s love though he is tempted by hate and doubt. Pialat also has these moments that play into people eager to be saved through Donissan as it plays into him figuring out his role but also the fact that evil still looms as its finale is about him giving in to God or Satan. Overall, Pialat crafts a riveting and haunting film about a priest’s struggle with his faith and his attempt to save a young woman from madness.

Cinematographer Willy Kurant does incredible work with the film’s cinematography with its naturalistic look for some of the film’s daytime exterior scenes along with unique lighting for some of the film’s interior shots along with some stylish blue filters for the scenes where Donissan meets the horse dealer. Editor Yann Dedet does brilliant work with the editing with its stylish usage of jump-cuts that allows the long shots to be cut abruptly yet it works to enhance the dramatic effect including Donissan’s meeting with Mouchette. Production designer Katia Wyszkop and set decorator Gerard Marcireau do excellent work with the look of the rooms that Donissan would live in during his time in different parishes but also the posh home of one of Mouchette’s lover in the marquis.

Costume designer Gil Noir does fantastic work with the costumes from the robes many of the priests wear as well as some of the posh-like clothing that Mouchette wears. The sound work of Louis Gimel is superb for its natural approach to sound in capturing everything that is happening on the location while enhancing some of Mouchette’s screams. The film’s music by Henri Dutilleux is wonderful as it is this low-key classical piece that plays into Donissan’s doubt and struggles with its soft yet brooding string arrangements.

The film’s terrific ensemble cast feature notable small roles from Marcel Anselin as the Bishop Gerbier, Philippe Pallut as a young quarryman whom Donissan meets on his walk, Marie-Antoinette Lorge as a housemaid at the home where Donissan and Menou-Segrais live in, Corinne Bourdon as a woman whose child is dying as she turns to Donissan, Brigitte Legendre as Mouchette’s mother, Jean-Claude Bourlat as a priest in Malorthy, and Jean-Christophe Bouvet as a horse dealer that Donissan meets during his walk as he is revealed to be something far more sinister. Yann Dedet and Alain Arthur are fantastic in their respective roles as Mouchette’s lovers in the doctor Gallet and the marquis Cadignan with the former being concerned and troubled by Mouchette’s confessions and desires while the latter is someone who is also married but is unsure about wanting to continue until things suddenly go wrong.

Maurice Pialat is brilliant as Menou-Segrais as a veteran priest who mentors Donissan as he also becomes concerned about Donissan’s struggles and other mysterious events as he also tries to assure his protégé about what to do. Sandrine Bonnaire is incredible as Mouchette as a young woman who is pregnant yet consumed with guilt and anger as well as her own sense of uncertainty in her many affairs and her own place in the world. Finally, there’s Gerard Depardieu in a phenomenal performance as Donissan as a newly-ordained priest who struggles with his role as well as his own faith where he often questions his worth but also the world around him believing he couldn’t do anything as the sense of anguish and humility adds to the restrained and grounded performance that Depardieu brings.

Sous le soleil de Satan is a tremendous film from Maurice Pialat that features great leading performances from Gerard Depardieu and Sandrine Bonnaire. Along with its ensemble cast, eerie visuals, a haunting music soundtrack, stylish editing, and its exploration of doubt and devotion. It is a film that explores a priest’s struggle to maintain his faith in a chaotic world while trying to save a young woman from her own sins. In the end, Sous le soleil de Satan is a sensational film from Maurice Pialat.

Maurice Pialat Films: (L’amour existe) – (Naked Childhood) – (We Won’t Grow Old Together) – (The Mouth Agape) – (Graduate First) – (Loulou) – (A Nos Amour) – (Police (1985 film)) – (Van Gogh (1991 film)) – (Le Garcu)

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