Monsieur Vincent

“Monsieur Vincent”, an award-winning French film (1947) on the life of St. Vincent de Paul. In the film, St. Vincent de Paul models Christian charity by helping the poorest of the poor in the midst of the Black Death in Europe, carrying on his charitable work despite setbacks and obstacles.

Film review by US Catholic Bishops:

Monsieur Vincent -- Lucid, moving account of St. Vincent de Paul's work among the poor and the oppressed in 17th-century France, from his first labors in a plague-ravaged village and his appeals to the conscience of the aristocracy to the founding of an order devoted to charitable works and his death in 1660. Director Maurice Cloche portrays the poverty of the times and the cruelty of the regime in starkly convincing fashion, providing a solid historical framework within which Pierre Fresnay's performance in the title role shines with a warm compassion and spiritual intensity which most viewers will find irresistably compelling. Subtitles. High on the list of great religious movies. (A-I) (br) ( 1947 )