Misericordia
When unemployed baker Jérémie Pastor (Félix Kysyl, "Godard Mon Amour") returns to his hometown of Saint-Martial for the funeral of his beloved prior boss Jean-Pierre (Serge Richard), the owner of the village boulangerie, it seems everyone in town desires him, even those who at first behave otherwise. Jean-Pierre's widow, Martine Rigal (Catherine Frot, "The Page Turner," "Marguerite"), declares his drive back to Toulouse too long and offers to put him up for the night, an evening which stretches into several, enraging her son Vincent (Jean-Baptiste Durand), whose later disappearance brings the attention of the police (Sébastien Faglain and Salomé Lopes). And yet, many who can sense the truth about what's happened to Vincent have only feelings of "Misericordia."
Laura's Review: A-
Misericordia is a Latin word meaning mercy or compassion, but while writer/director Alain Guiraudie's ("Stranger by the Lake") film may share some of the Catholic sensibilities of Bresson, it also enjoys the dark yet impish qualities of Chabrol. The film, which begins on a somber note then allows its protagonist to spiral into knotty situations tinged with sly hummor, wraps in a quirky combination of maternal love spiked with lust.
After taking Jérémie to view her husband's body, Martine's observation, 'You still love him,' hints that the relationship may have been more than paternal mentorship, something Jérémie appears to confirm later when he asks for a copy of a picture of Jean-Pierre emerging from the surf, one which Martine has described as handsome. This makes Vincent's conviction that his childhood friend now wants to sleep with his mother seem nuts, more so when he begins to stop in at 4 a.m. to harass him. Vincent also takes exception to Jérémie visiting mutual friend Walter Bonchamp (David Ayala), instigating shoving matches with behavior suggesting jealousy. Meanwhile, the obese and unkempt Walter's overly generous pours of pastis inspire a sexual advance from Jérémie, one which is harshly spurned with a shotgun, a rejection profusely apologized for later.
The film, which features an early scene of dirt being thrown on Jean-Pierre's coffin, will repeat the motif less formerly with his son. Vincent's burial is in a serene, misty forest frequented by local mushroom foragers where Jérémie, who finds nothing until morels disturbingly pop up out of season, regularly runs into Father Griseul (Jacques Develay) with a full basket of porcinis. Guiraudie echoes many details throughout his film, surprising shots of male full frontal nudity disclosing desire from opposing points of view, Vincent's middle-of-the-night harassments turning into bizarre bedside police interrogations. Jérémie will be given Jean-Pierre's clothes to borrow, snitch underthings from Walter then ask the priest to borrow pajamas.
Cinematographer Claire Mathon ("Portrait of a Lady on Fire") captures perhaps the most colorful use of an autumnal landscape since "The Trouble with Harry," here rendered more mysterious in rain and fog. Her work here is about more than the stunning scenery, however, her use of close-ups pulling shadows from the forest into a confessional booth, more light allowing the actors expressions to tell the story. The cast, with the exception of Frot mostly unknown in the U.S., works wonderfully together in their ability to convey much with things left unsaid. Kysyl's big blue eyes suggest innocence, but his closed manner keeps us guessing until the end. Frot, too, appears warm and open until she expresses suspicions which seem to vanish the more blatant the evidence, the clang of a spade in a cemetery giving Guiraudie's film a wry, musical finale before its satisfying coda.
Janus Sideshow releases "Misericordia" in select theaters on 3/21/25, expanding on 3/28/25.
