The Holy Mother is very selective in whom she chooses to show herself to
these days. Not one for the celebrity phenomenon that plagues our modern
era, she tends to keep herself to herself, putting in the odd appearance now
and again just to keep the old faith alive and reassure her believers that
they are on the right lines. This is why Mario feels so especially honoured
when the Virgin Mary appears to him one day. For this ordinary barber
in a small provincial town, it is the last thing he would have expected.
Mario shows his gratitude by taking the saintly apparition back home with
him and introducing her to his parents.
The latter are understandably over the moon to make the acquaintance of
the mother of the Son of God - it's not the kind of thing that happens every
day. Thinking it would be discourteous to do otherwise, they offer her
a room in their modest homestead. From the moment that the Virgin Mary
enters Mario's household the whole family undergoes a remarkable transformation.
Mario and his family begin to change their behaviour, in ways that might be
considered eccentric, even freakish. Mario is the one who is most affected
- now he feels he is on a mission and must tell the truth at all times.
The Holy Mother is the cause of all this, but what will Mario do when he
discovers that she is not quite what she appears to be. In fact, far
from being a divine personage, she has something of the Devil in her...
Script: Hélène Angel, Jean-Claude Janer, Agnès de Sacy
Cinematographer: Mário Barroso
Music: Julien Baer
Cast:Grégoire Colin (Mario),
Isabelle Carré (Marie-Hélène),
Carmen Maura (Teresa),
Marthe Villalonga (Mamie Doradée),
Luis Rego (Maurice),
Michèle Moretti (Simone Rosin),
Thierry de Peretti (Bébert),
Katia Khazak (Carolina),
Guilaine Londez (Brigitte Doradée),
Annie Perret (Françoise Doradée),
Marie-Paule Trystram (Sonia),
Evelyne Istria (Madame Ravinard),
Maryse Feral (Madame Toussi),
Arnaud Binard (Stéphane),
Catherine Hosmalin (Mère de Willy),
Thierry Levaret (Johnny),
Valérie Becquet (Fiancée de Johnny),
Ewa Charier (Institutrice),
Pierre Lajournade (Enfant secte),
Julia Bou (Enfant secte)
Country: France
Language: French
Support: Color
Runtime: 88 min
The best French Films of the 1920s
In the 1920s French cinema was at its most varied and stylish - witness the achievements of Abel Gance, Marcel L'Herbier, Jean Epstein and Jacques Feyder.
In the 1940s, the shadowy, skewed visual style of 1920s German expressionism was taken up by directors of American thrillers and psychological dramas, creating that distinctive film noir look.
It was American film noir and pulp fiction that kick-started the craze for thrillers in 1950s France and made it one of the most popular and enduring genres.