Léon Morin prêtre

Jean-Pierre Melville’s searing drama brings together two Nouvelle Vague icons, Jean-Paul Belmondo (Breathless) and Emmanuelle Riva (Hiroshima mon amour).

In a small provincial town during the Occupation, Barny (Riva) is a war widow looking after her young daughter. As her husband was an Israelite and politically she is more convinced by Marxist ideals, Barny has not had much time for the church. However, perhaps out of boredom in these extreme times, she decides to visit the new priest Léon Morin (Belmondo) and soon finds herself questioning her former (dis)beliefs.

At almost two hours long, without a gun in sight, Jean-Pierre Melville’s philosophical drama is as pulsating as any of his gangster thrillers.

This story of a woman’s spiritual and sexual awakening is immaculately played by Emmanuelle Riva, who emanates the strength, weakness and desire of her character in every scene. Equally impressive is Belmondo, as the steadfast priest, unwavering from his vows, yet somehow ambiguous in his demeanour and rapport with his female protégé.

Their dynamic is engrossing and this is largely thanks to Melville’s minimalist yet finely tuned direction. The sparse interiors allow for the tiniest detail to be picked up, where a glance, accidental touch or a fleeting silence takes on a magnitude of meaning. Henri Decae’s austere camerawork and Martial Solal’s subtle score compound this sense of everyday tragedy.

The absence of physical incident and narrative twists allow for the words to take centre stage and manifest their importance. The discussions between Riva and Belmondo become the set pieces; talking is action, and it makes for an absorbing experience. Melville’s film precedes other great works in this French tradition, such as Eric Rohmer’s Ma nuit chez Maude, Jean Eustache’s La Maman et la putain or Louis Malle’s My Dinner with André, where the art of conversation and debate are ingeniously accorded a thrilling role within the primarily visual medium of cinema. Melville is one of the few to succeed in transporting literature onto film and he renders justice here to Béatrix Beck’s Prix-Goncourt winning original novel.

A rare insight into the psychology of the majority of women, who were unable to participate in the war but whose lives were completely disrupted by it, Léon Morin prêtre is a profound work of great import.