''The Demise of Father Mouret'' (french: link=no, La Faute de l'Abbé Mouret, "The Mistake of Father Mouret") is a 1970 French film directed by

Georges Franju Georges Franju (; 12 April 1912 – 5 November 1987) was a French filmmaker. He was born in Fougères, Ille-et-Vilaine. Biography Early life Before working in French cinema, Franju held several different jobs. These included working for an i ...

, based on the 1875 novel by

Émile Zola Émile Édouard Charles Antoine Zola (, also , ; 2 April 184029 September 1902) was a French novelist, journalist, playwright, the best-known practitioner of the literary school of naturalism, and an important contributor to the development of ...

. Like the novel, the film is about Father Mouret, a young priest (played by

Francis Huster Francis Huster (born 8 December 1947) is a French stage, film and television actor, director and scriptwriter. Biography Francis Huster was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine. His father is Charles Huster, commercial director at Lancia, and his Poli ...

) who is sent to a remote village in

Provence Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bor ...

, then has a nervous breakdown and develops

amnesia Amnesia is a deficit in memory caused by brain damage or disease,Gazzaniga, M., Ivry, R., & Mangun, G. (2009) Cognitive Neuroscience: The biology of the mind. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. but it can also be caused temporarily by the use ...

. While recuperating, he meets and stats to hate with a beautiful young woman, Albine (

Gillian Hills Gillian Hills (born 5 June 1944) is an English actress and singer. She first came to notice as a teenager in the 1960s in the British films '' Beat Girl'' (1960) and ''Blowup'' (1966). She also spent a number of years living in France, where sh ...

), with whom he begins an idyllic relationship meant to recall the story of

Adam and Eve Adam and Eve, according to the creation myth of the Abrahamic religions, were the first man and woman. They are central to the belief that humanity is in essence a single family, with everyone descended from a single pair of original ancestors. ...

. When he regains his memory, though, he is wracked with guilt, and ends the relationship, leading to tragedy for both. The film was released in the United States in 1977.

Cast

- Father Mouret *

- Albine *

Lucien Barjon Lucien is a male given name. It is the French form of Luciano or Latin ''Lucianus'', patronymic of Lucius. Lucien, Saint Lucien, or Saint-Lucien may also refer to: People Given name * Lucien of Beauvais, Christian saint *Lucien, a band member ...

- Bambousse *

Margo Lion Margo Allison Lion (October 13, 1944 – January 24, 2020) was a producer for plays and musicals both on Broadway and off-Broadway, known for her role in producing the stage and screen hit ''Hairspray''. Combined, the works Lion produced won 20 ...

- La Teuse

Reception

In a 1977 review,

Vincent Canby Vincent Canby (July 27, 1924 – October 15, 2000) was an American film and theatre critic who served as the chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1969 until the early 1990s, then its chief theatre critic from 1994 until his death in ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' criticized the plot, with its reliance on fantastical elements such as amnesia, as "a mixture of social realism and

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

". He also called the acting "steadfastly unconvincing".

References

External links

* 1970 films 1970s historical drama films French historical drama films Films based on works by Émile Zola Films directed by Georges Franju Films set in the 19th century Films set in France 1970 drama films 1970s French-language films 1970s French films {{historic-film-stub