DIS+11

DIS 11

Watch this video review of the novel/video, //Diary of a Country Priest//.

Write a response to this review. Where do you agree? Where do you disagree?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMpXDkTyXKg

BK:

While I chuckled a little at the speaker's off pronunciation, at least from what we're used to saying in class, I for the most part agree with many of his comments. At the beginning, he notes that the parish the young cure is assigned to his "petty and vicious" and that the opening scenes mirrored that of a horror movie. I agree with both of these statements, and love the imagery the speaker paints for the audience with his spot-on adjectives. I agreed with his thoughts on the priest's physical size portrayed in this film compared to the vast, dreary landscape of the small French village. I found the speaker's idea that the town his a "world of spiritual drought" to be intriguing and more or less what I was visualizing. The reviewer mentions some of the film's strong points, like the soft portrayal of objects and the bold contrasts of light and dark, and I would go so far as the say that the narrative also holds some of these themes. Although I have not seen the film, from the clips we have watched, it seems that it follows pretty closely to the narrative of the novel. I like that the director highlights some major ideas that are in the plot-line into the actual cinematography. The one point that I could find where I was not in total agreement, was when the speaker touched on the priest's odd dieting habits and stated that he was taking an almost suicidal path. From the novel, I did not really get the idea that the young priest adopted strange eating ways because he was trying to kill himself, but rather so he could function during the day due to his awful stomach pains. In short, I agreed with the majority of the reviewer's points, with the exception of really only one thing, and hopefully one day will be able to watch the movie that goes along with this novel. GG: The landscape - and I think you are very sensitive to literary landscapes - is captured weather well, I think. You are right, I think: There are no suggestions that the eating habits are self-destructive. He seemed to try to eat that which was palatable for his stomach.

JR:

I agree with Breanna’s views on the video clip. The opening scenes in the book and I suppose the movie as well do seem to set up the ambiance of a horror movie and the dramatic music and detailed imagery of the two interpretations add to the foreboding mood. I did not initially agree that the village was “petty and vicious” though. I saw the village and indifferent and cold- perhaps a bit petty, but those two adjectives seemed a bit extreme. The reviewer does utilize captivating diction but his monotonous tone is a bit overwhelming. The narration of the review and the images of the video captured emotional points in the story which highlighted themes of despair and suffering. I liked the reviewer’s comparison of the priest to Jesus in the simplicity of his life and the types of food he eats. Even though this comparison is not totally accurate, it sheds a different light on the personality of the priest. Yes, the priest’s diet does seem to send him on a “suicidal path” which is where the comparison between Jesus and the priest seems to end. I, like Breanna, do not believe that the priest was eating poorly as a suicide method but he certainly was not helping his condition. Yet another point with which I agree with Breanna- I hope we could see the movie sometime! GG: I wonder if your sense of "horror" is that the film's genre and style evoke that in you? EM:

All great comments that I agree with. This video was concise and insightful, and I definitely got a clearer picture of a lot of the things that occurred in this novel. The words "petty and vicious" stuck out to me immediately as well. The town is almost no different than any other, it is just that we are so immersed in it and the priest's suffering throughout the novel that we cannot help but lose ourselves amidst all of the negatives and not the positive aspects of the town. The town and all of the challenges it presents is representative of life in general, and it is no more challenging, hypocritical, or hopeless than any other. I liked the comment that this novel/film can be interpreted as a horror novel/film--though it seems like an over exaggeration it is not short of the truth. The stark, monotonous lives that the priest and the other character's live could very well fall under the horror genre. The phrase "alienation from God" was an interesting one. It is difficult to name the state the priest is in in terms of his relationship with God. He has heavy feelings of estrangement and he not only struggles to find himself but also God. This is an incredibly difficult thing for the priest to deal with. He feels he should have a perfect relationship with God to serve as a role model to the town, but it is this allusion that leads him into a further state of depression and "alienation" from God and others. This novel is riddled with great irony. We see it in the members of the town who, as the video noted, go to church not as much for religious exercise but to mock the priest. The bread and wine that the priest eats are his only source of life, or so he thinks. His lack of diet, however, progresses his illness and the two things he is able to eat, while in a religious sense should bring life, are what ultimately lead to his death. Finally, I enjoyed seeing images from the film and hearing about the emphasis on light and darkness, as this is what this novel focuses on so much--how do we elude inevitable darkness, and how do we find the light through God's grace? GG: "La ville douce et monotone..." LD:

I agree with everyone in that I was also struck by the words “petty and vicious”. I feel as though I have been trying to describe the townspeople multiple times in class and have never been able to find their perfect adjectives, but those are definitely it. I agree with Breanna that the director definitely brought through the dark themes of the book through the movie’s solemn and colorless cinematography. I don’t really know how I feel about the whole comparison between the priest and Jesus. I’m trying to think back to the book, but while I was reading I never made that connection. Maybe I read the book to literally, but I just thought he only drank wine because he would barf up anything else. Looking at the wine as a symbol is interesting though. I’m interested in seeing how this movie portrays the book. I would say that I will go rent it soon, but my attention span is little to none, so I’m not sure if I could last the full 120 minutes., but I would definitely love to see certain scenes. The actor playing the priest in the film is almost exactly the man I pictured while reading! GG: The connection you want to explore (and I wish we had time for you to do that) between the priest and Jesus is very interesting. Like the priest, Jesus also comes to an understanding of his own authority and divinity, but that is not fully realized until he rises from the dead.