Our Father, the Devil Movie Review | 2023 Ellie Foumbi Film

Review: Our Father, the Devil writes itself into a corner on the occasion, but Ellie Foumbi manages to cross the finish line with positive results. Babetida Sadjo is the star of the movie, giving an immersive, heartbreaking performance with 2-3 moments that are jaw-dropping.

babetida sadjo in our father the devil 2023 film — Babetida Sadjo in Our Father, the Devil (2023)

Our Father, the Devil is an inherently complex and messy film, one that lends itself to many different interpretations and readings. We are brought into a world filled with fraught relationships and insurmountable pain. How we navigate it becomes our legacy, whether that be immediately or well after the fact.

Marie (played by Babetida Sadjo) is experiencing that firsthand having been reacquainted with a charismatic Catholic priest whose past intersects with hers in malicious ways. It’s an effectively translated nightmare for Marie, who had spent years of her life reconstructing her social foundation to negate the chances of this catastrophic event happening having run away to Southern France following the murder of her family at young age.

The specific ways she deals with this simmering trauma becomes the focal point of Our Father, the Devil. The movie shifts through her emotional state as she reflect on every aspect of her life that’s been shaken to the core: occupational, societal, sexual, etc. It really runs the table with every idea, held together tremendously by Babetida Sadjo. Our Father, the Devil would fall apart without an anchor at the center, and her performance captures every emotion needed. It’s riveting and among the weightier, more effective depictions of grief this decade.

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Opposite of her is Souléymane Sy Savané as Father Patrick, who lives his life constantly repenting for the sins he committed years prior. Now dedicating his life to doing good, he also can’t escape his past. Despite having a backstory filled with tormenting acts, Sy Savané finds a few nuanced ways to give Father Patrick a sense of newfound humanity. His quiet performance speaks volumes. It gives the film a third dimension it desperately needs.

And that’s because Our Father, the Devil, for its thematic and emotional depth, is shot and framed quite plainly, not really uncovering many new stylistic ideas or intriguing visuals. This is director Ellie Foumbi’s debut feature. It’s not all too idiosyncratic or singular from an actual filmmaking standpoint, and I wish a few more choices stood out among a story that’s occasionally quite riveting and crying out for a few eye-popping flourishes.

But it’s still an engaging psychological thriller with rising tension that compounds rapidly. It writes itself into a corner on the occasion, but Ellie Foumbi manages to cross the finish line with positive results. Babetida Sadjo is the star, giving an immersive, heartbreaking performance with 2-3 moments that are jaw-dropping.

Rating

Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller

Watch Our Father, the Devil (2023) on The Criterion Channel and VOD

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