Mon curé chez les riches

In this biting 1926 silent satire directed by and starring Donatien, the rigid hierarchies of French society are dismantled through the eyes of Father Pellegrin. Pellegrin is not your typical saintly figure; he is a man of the earth, blunt to a fault, and possessed of a healthy appetite for the local vintage. When he is unexpectedly summoned from his humble rural parish to navigate the opulent, ego-driven world of the 'nouveaux riches' in Paris, the clash is immediate and revelatory. The film follows Pellegrin as he becomes an unwitting confessor and observer to a family more concerned with their social standing than their spiritual salvation. Through a series of increasingly uncomfortable social engagements, the narrative peels back the layers of hypocrisy that define the upper class, revealing a world where piety is a fashion statement and wealth is a shield against consequence. It is a story of moral friction, where the simple honesty of a country priest acts as a mirror to the hollow extravagance of the urban elite.