The Brazilian movie O Padre e a Moça (1966) was shown in the U. S. with the translated title The Priest and the Girl. It was co-written and directed by Joaquim Pedro de Andrade.
Although the film could just have been about the temptation of a priest, it's actually much more than that. A young priest arrives in town and hears a confession of the dying priest. The one word we catch is "Mariana."
What follows is a complex interaction, because two local men desire Mariana. It becomes clear that the priest is the third man in that category.
Helena Ignez portrays Mariana. It's obvious that director Andrade is aware of Ignez's charms. We get many, many closeups of her face. (In fairness, we get quite a few closeups of Paulo José, who portrays Padre Antonio.)
The film is set in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. A Brazilian friend told me that this is not a traditionally poor, dry area. However, there are pockets of poverty, and the movie is set in one of them.
The entire movie takes place in a dry, rocky, setting. It's made even more stark by the black and white photography.
The Priest and the Girl isn't an easy movie to watch. I don't think anyone in the film ever smiled. The good news is that it has a positive IMDb rating of 7.3. I agreed, and rated it 7.
Although the film could just have been about the temptation of a priest, it's actually much more than that. A young priest arrives in town and hears a confession of the dying priest. The one word we catch is "Mariana."
What follows is a complex interaction, because two local men desire Mariana. It becomes clear that the priest is the third man in that category.
Helena Ignez portrays Mariana. It's obvious that director Andrade is aware of Ignez's charms. We get many, many closeups of her face. (In fairness, we get quite a few closeups of Paulo José, who portrays Padre Antonio.)
The film is set in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. A Brazilian friend told me that this is not a traditionally poor, dry area. However, there are pockets of poverty, and the movie is set in one of them.
The entire movie takes place in a dry, rocky, setting. It's made even more stark by the black and white photography.
The Priest and the Girl isn't an easy movie to watch. I don't think anyone in the film ever smiled. The good news is that it has a positive IMDb rating of 7.3. I agreed, and rated it 7.