This film is harsh and lacks subtlety. There is no music, and then suddenly for transitions shots or more exactly for Gérard Depardieu's displacement, a thundering music (strongly in front in the sound bank) of Henri Dutilleux.

Otherwise, this universe is completely unknown to us: the life of a priest; the concept of evil; the concept of Satan; the moods of a priest who no longer believes in God, but in the Devil; the bigotry of the bourgeois or simple people and the power of a priest in the land of simple people. The film shows the controlling role of the church.

Otherwise what keeps us awake is Maurice Pialat's direction, which pulls the viewer in, often by filming something that is partly off-camera, behind a door, in the background. Many shots are beautiful and very composed, based on obscurities.

The strength of the film is the conviction of the actors. Gérard Depardieu is impressive. Sandrine Bonnaire too. All the actors are outstanding, in spite of or thanks to very literary, unrealistic dialogues with a certain beauty.