Journal d’un curé de campagne [Diary of a Country Priest] (1951)

(YouTube streaming, October 2022) Every Robert Bresson film is a mystery box : Will I like it slightly, or will I hate it with a surprising passion? As it turns out, Journal d’un curé de campagne is a bland entry. I didn’t hate it (already putting it in the upper half of his filmography), but there’s not a lot in there for me to like. The story takes us to rural France, where a new priest does his best to establish his parish despite ambivalence or hostility from the local villagers. As it turns out, our protagonist is sick, and his interactions with the locals veer between matters of sin and theology. As is often the case with Bresson, his minimalist films are consciously emptied of emotion from the actors—the dialogue is shot flatly, and if you’re looking for directorial flourishes then—oh boy are you watching the wrong filmmaker. It’s all rather dull, an impression that comparisons with the later Léon Morin, prêtre would confirm. But then again, Bresson is a specific, perhaps even acquired taste—it’s not a surprise or a dishonor to find out that it just doesn’t work.