By the Grace of God

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Alain E A very powerful movie examining the issue of sexual abuse of children by Catholic priests in France. The story centers around the victims of one particular clergyman who operated in the city of Lyon. Years later, as the statute of limitations is expiring, his victims organize, overcoming personal and societal inhibitions in order to demand justice. The movie avoids cheap sentimentality describing the trauma inflicted, that affects virtually all these men and their families decades later. Hopefully, twenty years from now similar films will not be necessary to address a new generation of victims. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 10/04/25 Full Review Garry A This is based on a true story. There are some very powerful scenes involving victims and the priest poor abused them. My only issue is with the runtime. For me it's a four star movie if it was thirty minutes shorter. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 08/09/25 Full Review Audience Member A predatory priest isolates and sexually abuses young boys who are put into his care — unfortunately, somehow, we've seen it 1,000 times before. In By the Grace of God, we're transported approximately 30 years into the future — depending on which character we are following — where a victim (Melvil Poupaud), now in his late-30s/early 40s, decides it's time to speak out after the harrowing realization that his abuser, Father Preynat (Bernard Verley) is not only still working with children, but has faced basically zero consequences for his crimes. It's 137-minute run-time is due to the fact that the plot does not just follow Alexandre (Poupaud) and his struggles receiving any accountability from the Church — personified through Cardinal Barbarin (Francois Marthouret) — but that it also opens up the stories behind two more victims: Francois (Denis Ménochet) and Emmanuel (Swann Arlaud). All three victims have taken various paths in life and have faced various effects of their abuse — Emmanuel is the only one who has a physical defect in the form of a crooked penis from the way Preynat would assault him, which he continued to do to himself through puberty, as he figured that was the proper technique for masturbation. The victims — and their larger network — are not monomaniacal in their approach either and have various perceptions of the Church. Alexandre, the catalyst, is very much the picture-book family man who still regularly attends Mass with his own young boys. Francois, on the other hand, is a rabid Atheist. The confrontation scenes between victim and abuser — one coming much earlier than I expected — are not shocking or tearjerkers. In fact, Emmanuel's scene with Preynat was abrupt, almost casual, as they sat only a few feet adjacent to each other in the presence of a detective. The most jarring moment comes early, when Preynat has the gall to state, "I'm the victim here". How Alexandre doesn't leap across the table and strangle the old man, I can't comprehend. Based on true events, the victims and larger advocacy network not only brought attention to the Church's cover-up, potentially saving future victims, but successfully made changes to the law itself, specifically, the hindering Statute of Limitations. This is a movie more about organizing, strategy, and highlighting the lingering impact of childhood abuse instead of a courtroom drama or network of cover-ups. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/01/23 Full Review Audience Member Tema sempre spinoso, ma abbastanza sdoganato negli anni successivi al quel capolavoro di Spotlight che ha aperto la strada. Il resoconto è ripreso in ogni minimo dettaglio nonostante il lungo arco temporale, spesso ci si ritrova ad ascoltare un narratore che legge mail e scambi di posta, notizie e comunicati. A tratti leggermente avaro di eventi significativi, il regista Ozon è abile a sviluppare la trama cambiando protagonista, riuscendo così a mescolare storie diverse e caratteri agli antipodi, dando modo inoltre di sviluppare personalità e reazioni diverse legate ai fatti accaduti. La scelta di non operare colpi di scena ai fini dello spettacolo, offre una visione lucida e precisa di ciò che è realmente accaduto, facendo forse mancare qualcosa in termini di emozioni. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/12/23 Full Review Audience Member Fascinating look at the complexity of trauma and justice/reparations for victims of sex abuse by the Catholic Church. Specific characters are fictional but this has certainly happened. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 04/11/21 Full Review Audience Member Scenes involving victim-offender mediation are undoubtedly chilling, however the real success in the film lies in the ability to go beyond the question of "is it time for serious reform in the Catholic Church" to instead begin to explore whether that reform will be led by those on the inside or the outside Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/10/23 Full Review Read all reviews

By the Grace of God

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