JohnHowardReid SYNOPSIS: Newly released from prison, a thief is anxious to recover his stolen loot. But others are also anxious to lay their hands on the jewels. So with the help of his younger brother (a Catholic priest), he dresses himself in priestly clothes and decides to hide out in a small hamlet in the Ardèche. Fortuitously, the parish priest has just passed away, so the villagers naturally assume the thief is a replacement sent by the bishop. With the prompting of the altar boy, all goes well for the thief at first, but problems develop. One is the arrival of the real replacement priest. Another is the backsliding of the thief's good-hearted but weak-willed brother, who cashes the jewels but lets the money go to his head.COMMENT: When you have a clever script that depends to an inordinate degree on the phrase, "but it just so happens", you have to make quite extraordinary efforts to disguise this fact or, at the very least, hide it away. In my experience, very few writers, actors and directors are capable of doing this, but it just so happens that Jean-Marie Bigard is the writer-actor who hits the jackpot here, and Roger Delattre is the astute director who manages to bring it off. And it all happens thanks to superb pacing that not only makes the jokes come thick and fast, but brilliant scripting that absolutely crowds the screen with cameos, and even better still, action! The audience is given no time to think, no time to ponder. Blink and you'll miss an arresting image. Turn your head and you'll lose touch with the plot. Pay attention to your date and you'll wonder why she and the rest of the audience are laughing so heartily.As might be expected, Bigard has written a great role for himself. As a result, his is indeed a most striking presence. All the same, the support cast has not been neglected. Doudi has at least two or three scenes in which he wipes out some formidable opposition from the Mafia boss and a bevy of beautiful girls.Produced on a grand scale, Le Missionnaire is at once a feast for the eyes, a constant titillation of the funny-bone and a truly emotional message for the heart. The film of the year, in my opinion!

jotix100 Mario, a thief that has spent seven years in jail gets released. Two former partners in crime await for him to settle a score. The duo want to get their share of a robbery they worked together where up to a million and a half Euros is hidden somewhere, and now, they want Mario to give them what the shares due to them. The only problem is that Mario has to go to a small town where the treasure is buried, but he wants no company.As a solution to his problems, Mario goes to his brother Patrick, a Catholic priest, for help. The brother suggests he travels dressed as a priest since he has the proper outfit for the journey. When Mario arrives in his priestly garb, he finds a welcoming committee that confuses him with their new pastor because of the death of their beloved priest. At this moment everything breaks loose."Hallelujah" as the film was retitled for its English release, is an old fashioned French comedy directed by Roger Delattre and written by its star, Jean-Marie Bigard, who takes the role that would have gone in years gone by to Fernandel. or Louis De Funes, or even Coluche. It is clearly a pleasant time at the movies, but do not expect fireworks because it is a conventional story that was probably created to serve the star. Just go for the mindless fun and enjoy. Mr. Bigard plays the criminal who impersonates a priest with gusto.The film was filmed in the Rhone Alpes towns of Banne and Ardeche, which are picturesque and serve the action well. Thierry Arbogast, the cinematographer gets the essence of the small places.

DICK STEEL Once in a while a little gem of a film will hit all the right notes when you least expect it to happen, leaving you the viewer grinning with glee by the time the end credits roll out. Gallants, with its theatrical release in Hong Kong soon, did that for me, and now Hallelujah!, which has been playing for some time already, did it for me this month, in presenting a story so deceptively simple and humorous, had a lot going for it in knowing just how much to bite off and chew.Directed by Roger Delattre and written by the leading actor Jean-Marie Bigard who takes on the role of Mario, Hallelujah! takes the quintessential fish out of water story, and it's not since Hot Fuzz that I kinda enjoyed this genre since you'd come to expect the formula that usually gets employed, with the reluctant hero being put in a premise against his wishes, and trying to make the best of it, in particular, with the help of the earnest supporting characters who teaches the protagonist a thing or two about humanity, or vice versa.Bigard's Mario is a jewel thief having served the last day of his 7 year prison sentence, and is about to start a new life except for two ex-colleagues who come knocking on his door to demand a cut of the jewels. A bad-ass himself but knowing that the odds are not against his favour, Mario seeks the help of his brother Patrick (David Strajmayster), a priest who decides that the best way to help Mario will be to disguise him as a fellow member of the church, and send him to a small town to hide. Little does he know that his contact and fellow brethren had kicked the bucket, and Mario had no choice but to pick up the mantle and become the beacon of hope to the town folks, where hilarity is just about every turn of the corner.I will not deny that I had to rely on the English subtitles to get me through this film given my lack of mastery of the French language, and certainly in this case there will be a number of jokes that will get lost in translation. But for what it's worth, this subtitled version managed to get me in stitches, in particular Jean-Marie Bigard's straight faced performance as the no- nonsense gangster who found himself stuck knee deep in helping the simple town folks who see him as their messiah. On one hand he can't wait to shrug them off so that he can get his hands on his stolen jewels, and on the other, slowly but surely, find himself being endeared to the rich supporting characters that pepper the scenes, in particular with the police led by Jean Dell's Le Capitaine de Gendarmerie.On the other hand, there's the story of Mario's brother Patrick, who is tasked with the responsibility of helping Mario retrieve the stolen treasure, and as a religious man we see him slowly degenerate into a life of vice, in stark contrast to Mario who had, in his limited capacity tricking everyone of his theology expertise. Before Patrick's scene got too over the top, there's a superb performance and premise during a protracted negotiation that will surely leave you laughing out loud. For Patrick, it's the exploration on the corruption and temptation that money can bring.But it's not all just laughter without substance, as the film does have its very clear message which came as the final sub plot of the film. Some may find it being shoved down one's throat, but I thought it's nevertheless a critical reminder of the times we live in, which calls for the message of love, peace and tolerance despite differences in religious beliefs, since almost all preaches the same positive aspects on how to lead one's life to fulfillment, with responsibility and acceptance toward fellow human being. It's an ideal that the film tries to spell out to the audience, that it's nothing impossible once we get past our bigoted views, and see beyond surface differences to realize we'll all the same deep down, holding onto similar hopes and dreams.If this was to be remade, I can see how Hollywood would adapt this, and Robert De Niro will fit in the role of Mario easily. In fact, if there's a Japanese version of it, Beat Takeshi will also not be far off in his ability to translate this role of a gangster being forced by circumstances to lead a life filled with offbeat comedy. Hallelujah! earns the distinct honour in being one of the films that is likely to end up in my shortlist of favourite films of the year. It's highly recommended, so do catch this on the big screen while you can before it disappears for good!

Teo Chee Tat my french is very limited, thus there might have been much humour that i didn't understand, but i feel this film was not made as a comedy but rather more as a satire. there were many ironies going on in the show: jailbird becoming priest, even bettering others in the job; priest becoming attracted to forces in materialism and the secular world; police and priest both see alcohol and sex as part of life and commoners empathising with that; and finally the irony of the neverending disputes of religions as opposed to how love could unite disparate beliefs. those who often seek divine help, hardly know that those who have genuine solutions to their problems are people not much different from them, perhaps merely more confident.