Léon Morin, prêtre

+ intro by season curator Diana Cipriano

Léon Morin, Priest

Jean-Pierre Melville bares his soul with this sublime tale of theology and repressed desire, starring Jean-Paul Belmondo.

  • Director

    Jean-Pierre Melville

  • With

    Jean-Paul Belmondo, Emmanuelle Riva, Irène Tunc, Howard Vernon

  • France-Italy 1961. 128min

  • Digital 4K

  • Certificate

    PG

  • English subtitles

Set in Nazi-occupied France, Melville’s remarkable film centres on the relationship between a local young priest and a widow who is an avowed atheist and communist. Superb performances, from Jean-Paul Belmondo as the original ‘hot priest’ and Hiroshima mon amour star Emmanuelle Riva as a woman navigating transgressive desires, make the most of the subtle, sensitive script. It remains a fascinating outlier in Melville’s crime-laden filmography.

Diana Cipriano

See other screenings of Léon Morin, prêtre.

Please note, we are screening the director's cut version of this feature which runs at 128min, not 115min as advertised in the printed guide.