Synopsis
Alexandre lives in Lyon with his wife and children. One day, he discovered by chance that the priest who abused him to scouts always officiates with children. He then starts a fight, quickly joined by François and Emmanuel, also victims of the priest, to "release their word" on what they suffered.
Votre Filmothèque
Cast
- Melvil PoupaudAlexandre Guérin
- Denis MénochetFrançois Debord
- Swann ArlaudEmmanuel Thomassin
- Éric CaravacaGilles Perret
- François MarthouretCardinal Philippe Barbarin
- Bernard VerleyFather Bernard Preynat
- Martine ErhelRégine Maire
- Josiane BalaskoIrène, Emmanuel's Mother
- Hélène VincentOdile Debord, François' Mother
- François ChattotPierre Debord, François' Father
- 100
The New York Times
By the Grace of God is a rarity: An important film that’s also utterly inspired. - 100
TheWrap
Ozon manages to instill a measured touch into every argument, outburst, and testimony, matching the naturalistic cinematography (by Manuel Dacosse, “Let the Corpses Tan”) and bestowing on us the most important and assured movie on this treacherous topic made this decade. - 83
IndieWire
A thoughtful, fast-paced, and immaculately acted procedural that unfolds with the urgency of a newspaper deadline, By the Grace of God zips through the facts of this horrid case, while also shaping them into a lens through which to examine the uneasy relationships between mercy and justice — between faith and the flawed institution that exists to preserve it. - 83
Original-Cin
Ozon’s film evolves less as a procedural story than a character study. - 80
Variety
That the film works as stirringly as it does is largely because of that brash, heart-on-sleeve engagement with its characters’ messy, unfinished feelings, not to mention Ozon’s canny knack for playing on French star personae. - 80
Film Threat
Ozon knows his camera placements, musical cues, and, of course, actors, and here he barely steps wrong, pulling us into the narrative, even while dialing back on his usual extravagance. - 75
RogerEbert.com
While this is a true story, Ozon goes the fictional movie route, taking a bit of dramatic license while keeping most of the actual details intact. The director impressively juggles the large scope of his script while maintaining the sense of intimacy for his male actors that he normally reserves for his female characters. - 70
The Hollywood Reporter
This is a social justice film made with purposeful conviction and a quiet, never strident, sense of indignation.