''The Horse of Pride'' is a 1980 rural drama film directed by

Claude Chabrol Claude Henri Jean Chabrol (; 24 June 1930 – 12 September 2010) was a French film director and a member of the French New Wave (''nouvelle vague'') group of filmmakers who first came to prominence at the end of the 1950s. Like his colleagues an ...

. Its title in French is '' Le cheval d'orgueil''. It is based on '' Le cheval d'orgueil'', an

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...

by Pêr-Jakez Helias. The film takes place in the

Bigouden Bigouden ( Breton: ''Bro-Vigoudenn''; French: ''Pays Bigouden''), historically known as Cap Caval, is, along the Bay of Audierne, the most south-western area of ''Bro Kernev'' in Brittany, south-west of Quimper, defined since 1790 in the French de ...

area south of Quimper.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 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 hat w ...

(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 of '' The New York Times'': 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