''The Horse of Pride'' is a 1980 rural

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by Claude Chabrol. Its title in French is '' Le cheval d'orgueil''. It is based on '' Le cheval d'orgueil'', an autobiography by

Pêr-Jakez Helias Pêr-Jakez Helias, baptised Pierre-Jacques Hélias, ''nom de plume'' Pierre-Jakez Hélias (1914–1995) was a Breton stage actor, journalist, author, poet, and writer for radio who worked in the French and Breton languages. For many years he di ...

. The film takes place in the Bigouden area south of

Quimper Quimper (, ; br, Kemper ; la, Civitas Aquilonia or ) is a commune and prefecture of the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France. Administration Quimper is the prefecture (capital) of the Finistère department. Geography Th ...

.Diarmuid Johnson, 'Helias, Pêr-Jakez (1914–95)', in John T. Koch (ed.), ''Celtic culture: a historical encyclopedia'', Volumes 1-5 (2006)
pp. 900–901
online

Plot

Set in

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...

from 1908–1918, two peasants marry, have a son, and live in traditional Breton ways which is three generations under one roof, a division of labor between the sexes, elders' stories at night, politics and religion during their little free time. These are difficult times for them – la Chienne du Monde drives some to commit suicide;

Ankou Ankou ( Breton: ''an Ankoù'') is a servant of death in Breton, Cornish (''an Ankow'' in Cornish), Welsh (''yr Angau'' in Welsh) and Norman French folklore. Background Ankou appears as a man or skeleton wearing a black robe and a large ha ...

(death) is always a possibility. Pierre is born into this provincial family, his lyric childhood interrupted by the outbreak of war and his father's conscription. He learns his catechism and, as a child of a Reds, also reveres school. His grandfather and father often put him on their shoulders, giving him a ride on the horse of pride.

Principal cast

Critical reception

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 d ...

'': Jackson Adler of ''

Time Out London ''Time Out'' is a global magazine published by Time Out Group. ''Time Out'' started as a London-only publication in 1968 and has expanded its editorial recommendations to 328 cities in 58 countries worldwide. In 2012, the London edition becam ...

'':

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Horse of Pride 1980 films Films directed by Claude Chabrol Films based on French novels Films set in the 1900s Films set in the 1910s French drama films 1980s French-language films 1980 drama films