★ 6 / 10
A Great Man, Seen Before the Fall
marclenglet80
It is a shame, because as a biopic it was rather successful. Academic, but successful. Benjamin Lavernhe delivered an excellent performance, bordering on…
It is a shame, because as a biopic it was rather successful. Academic, but successful. Benjamin Lavernhe delivered an excellent performance, bordering on Actor's Studio territory, recreating the speech patterns, diction and non-verbal mannerisms of the historical figure. Of course, Abbé Pierre's lifelong fight against poverty, the founding of Emmaüs, his forceful interventions in parliament and the media - none of this is glossed over, even if the subject had already been extensively covered in the famous Winter of '54 starring Lambert Wilson. While the film largely sidesteps the question of faith and spirituality, it also explores lesser-known facets: his very particular relationship with Lucie Coutaz, historical founder and coordinator of Emmaüs; the childhood friend killed in the war who served as judge and confidant of his doubts and fears; his past as a Resistance fighter; and his many ambiguities - including a media celebrity status hardly compatible with his role as a priest, but which he considered essential to his mission, and perhaps not unpleasant to his vanity, as well as his refusal to condemn the violence of those he saw as belonging to the wretched of the earth.Despite its substantial running time, the film is rich enough in information and strong performances to avoid boredom. Speaking of ambiguities and lesser-known aspects of Abbé Pierre... the timing of my viewing, eighteen months ago, could not have been worse, and it is no longer really possible to look at the film in the same way in light of recent revelations. Still, it would be a shame to cancel a production released just before the scandal broke, given how informative it is and how balanced and distanced the portrait remains (this is a strong personality more than a kind or charitable one). A disclaimer clarifying that the film deals with Abbé Pierre the social activist - not Abbé Pierre the sexual deviant in a cassock - will inevitably be added to the end credits sooner or later.
★ 6 / 10
A pointless, voyeuristic reboot
franbelle10
"Hiver 54, l'abbé Pierre (1989)" had one unavoidable flaw: it was filmed before his death. At least it respected the man in all his complexity and…
"Hiver 54, l'abbé Pierre (1989)" had one unavoidable flaw: it was filmed before his death. At least it respected the man in all his complexity and intimacy.This time, we have the opposite flaw: it's as if Abbé Pierre's death authorised a misplaced voyeurism of certain intimate and objectively uninteresting aspects of his life.In the end, his immense work is diminished by this unhealthy display.We also regret the director's lack of consideration for the spiritual roots of Abbé Pierre's commitment. The spiritual doubts experienced by all believers do not justify ignoring this essential facet of his biography.Moreover, legitimate objections to some of Abbé Pierre's ideological positions are only raised to be dismissed out of hand. Honesty would have justified a more balanced treatment of these subjects. At some point, one can feel unease at what is a form of propaganda.Finally, the film operates in a fairly binary mode: the good guys of Emmaus versus the bad society. The historical reality is more complex; Abbé Pierre's life took place during a period of major societal transformation and the advent of a welfare state, despite all its imperfections. The subject of worsening poverty in a welfare state would certainly merit a film exposé in its own right, but it cannot be totally ignored in the biography of a man who played a direct part in the birth of such a state.All in all, I see no reason to prefer this version to the 1989 one, which stick more closely to the fact. If you want to dig into philosophical matters, great. But do it properly or refrain.
6.4/10
766
•••
the worst actor ever