A standard-issue, no-tricks, yet perfectly calibrated movie from François Ozon? You'll see, as BY THE GRACE OF GOD opens

What's this? A movie from François Ozon that breaks no new ground in any direction yet tells a very important story so well that it could hardly be bettered? Yes. It is almost as if this famous French bad-boy filmmaker was thumbing his nose (and various other body parts) at those who've accused him of being mostly style, envelope-pushing and little else.

BY THE GRACE OF GOD (Grâce à Dieu) finds Ozon, pictured at left, working at his peak and showing us that he can, in the space of two hours and 17 minutes, give us a vital tale of religion and freedom, including a huge cast of characters -- each one fully created and performed -- that is compelling from the first and ever more riveting and enveloping as it moves steadily, often quietly along. Ozon has directed with a touch that is alternately light and strong, while writing/adapting his screenplay from a true story that has been, over recent years, making off-and-on headlines in France.

The filmmaker uses standard tropes such a narrative voice-over to lead us into this tale of adult French men, former or still-practising members of the Catholic faith, who have only recently stopped repressing memories of sexual abuse by a particular priest.

One after another they find each other and begin to explore ways to break into the tight circle of rigidity formed by the church, the media and the law -- all of which have long held sway over the very noticeably Catholic country of France.

After the initial and still very religious whistleblower (played by Melvil Poupaud, shown three photos up) tries his best to even slightly crack the protective shell of the church with no success, he convinces another family man, now an atheist (Denis Ménochet, two photos above)  to join him. Both their statute-of-limitations have run out, so they must seek younger men willing to come forward. (Turns out there are plenty of these, as our priest was quite the randy fellow where teenage boys were concerned.) This is not an easy task, though they are able to convince one highly troubled man (played beautifully by Swann Arlaud, above) to participate.

How Ozon and his fine cast bring all the plot strands and characters -- major and minor -- together with strategy, emotion, subtlety, and even a good deal of humor is more than exemplary. In fact, the film works even better than did our Oscar-winning Spotlight from a few years back. (That's Éric Caravaca, below, right, as the smart, caring doctor who joins the group.)

The run-up to the finale is exciting, of course, but it is the what-happened-here credit crawl at the end that should put your knickers in a twist. At this point, there should be no doubt in your mind how very Catholic a country France remains. For all it has brought the world in terms of philosophy, the arts and culture, it remains given over to myth worship that is not simply appalling but utterly detrimental to any real growth.

Although the male actors are the stars here, Ozon allows his females to shine brightly, too, among them that great French actress, Josiane Balasko (above, right), playing the Arlaud character's supportive if guilt-ridden mom. After winning Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Festival, the film seems to TrustMovies to be a shoo-in for whatever the Academy has renamed the Best Foreign Language Film category this year. Scene by scene, line by line of succinct, smart dialog, By the Grace of God could hardly be bettered.

From Music Box Films, running 137 minutes and in French with English subtitles, the movie opens in New York City this Friday, October 18, at Film Forum and The Landmark at 57 West, and on October 25, it will hit Los Angeles (at the Landmark NuArt), Washington DC (at the Landmark E Street) and Cambridge, Massachusetts, at the Landmark Kendall Square. On November 8, it will open here in South Florida in the MDC Tower Theater and the Coral Gables Art Cinema. Click here then scroll down to click on Theatrical Engagements to view all currently scheduled playdates, cities and theaters.

The difficulty of making that doctor's appt -- Jon Weinberg/Kris Elgstrand's FUNERAL DAY

An oddball and dark (but not black) comedy about a neurotic, narcissistic hypochondriac named Scott who seems bent on missing the funeral of one of his best friends (who has died from cancer) because poor Scott has just found what appears to be a lump on one of his testicles, as well as maybe a melanoma on his shoulder, FUNERAL DAY results in quite a few good laughs. As directed by and starring Jon Weinberg (shown at left, center, and below), this enjoyable little romp is a kind of road trip around Los Angeles as our nut-case hero fends off old friends trying to get him to that funeral and instead makes some new ones who have some very interesting ideas and suggestions for him.

Mr. Weinberg manages to direct competently enough and to perform the leading role in such as way that he makes Scott somehow bearable, as well as funny, so that his journey -- mostly on foot and running around town since has does not have a car--  pulls us into the film and keeps us pretty much glued.

The movie's fine ensemble cast adds a lot to the fun, as well, with Tyler Labine (above, left), as the friend who has the perfect solution to our hero's nut problem, and Dominic Rains (below, right), as another would-be friend who is more than ready to involve his pal in a less-than-upfront real estate transaction.

The screenplay, by Kris Elgstrand, races along nicely and also features some racy, funny dialog and situations -- the most bizarre of which involves a couple of doctors Scott meets in the park (Kristin Carey (below, center) and Jed Rees (below, left, and at bottom) who simply can't wait to take our hero home and "milk" his prostate. Ah, the meeting of modern medicine and modern romance!

As it rambles humorously along, the movie also sends up everything from materialism to creativity, friendship and much else. By the time Scott visits a sexy waitress (Sarah Adina) sporting a very nice tattoo, and then tries to break into a local hospice, you'll either be having a fine old time (as was I) or maybe have given up on this oddball movie.

I'd say stick with it and have yourself some good laughs and silly fun, even as you're treated to a raft of nice performances -- including those of Suzy Nakamura (above) and Tygh Runyan -- as little Scott is eventually made to realize that, yes, he really should grow up a bit and schedule that necessary MD appointment.

From Random Media and running a zippy 79 minutes, the movie hit DVD, digital and VOD last week -- for purchase and/or rental.

KEPT BOY: George Bamber's very bizarre and quaintly old-fashioned gay fairy tale

What to make of KEPT BOY? I'm still scratching my head over this one. Not that I didn't understand the (awfully manipulative, contrived and all-too-convenient) plot machinations. Yet, though these are set quite firmly in the present day, the story itself -- movie-wise, at least -- seems like a throwback to an earlier, more innocent time when audiences might have been able to buy into fairy tales, handsome princes, and love conquers all. Except that, in this case, the plot revolves around the "kept boy" of the title, his older and uber-successful lover, and the new and very hunky young man who has arrived to presumably take our hero's place.

As written by David Ozanich and directed by George Bamber (the latter, shown at left, gave us back in 2005 the somewhat better movie, The Mostly Unfabulous Social Life of Ethan Green), Kept Boy almost immediately asks the question, where's the boy? The "kept" fellow of the title looks to be approaching 40, even if in other ways he seems to still be stuck in adolescence. Simply put, he's an asshole, and unfortunately, he 's the kind of asshole that this movie never really allows you to warm up to. His character, Dennis, is such an noxious combination of entitlement and stupidity, it's no wonder his "keeper" (as well as many of the other characters) keeps him at arm's length for most of the film.

When, one fine day, that keeper (the classy, sexy and relatively commanding Thure Riefenstein, above), tells our hero to go out and get a job, Dennis (played by Jon Paul Phillips, below) -- once he gets over his initial shock -- tries to do just that. But with little success.

When the new "pool boy" Jasper (the interesting Greg Audino) shows up, things appear to go from bad to worse, except that who wants what -- and why -- is apparently and continually up for grabs. For awhile the sheer shock of seeing such an old-fashioned rags-to-riches-to-rags tale may carry you along, but eventually a kind of reality sets in.

This is, as it turns out, neither satire nor soap opera, drama nor even melodrama, feel-good nor feel-bad, comedy nor tragedy. Instead it's a very wobbly combo of all of the above. Some of the sets and cinematography (above and below), however, are certainly good looking, as are a few of the actors on hand.

Consequently, the incidental pleasures of Kept Boy may be enough to keep you going. If so, the movie arrives on DVD and VOD tomorrow, Tuesday, August 8, from Breaking Glass Pictures. Your move....