The three men, friends of childhood, will cross, compare their personal experiences and question their life of couple, family and professional.
Unable to forget the horrible sexual abuse they endured as children in the Catholic Church, three men, Alexandre (Melvil Poupaud), François (Denis Ménochet), and Emmanuel (Swann Arlaud), finally come together 30 years later to expose the church for covering up the crimes and allowing the Priest to continue working with children.
Alexandre decides to open up to his family about his abusive childhood by a priest in the French Catholic Church. Now married with children that are similar in age to when he was abused, it is important for them to know what happened. The memories of being approached by Father Preynat (Bernard Verley Martine) and kissed on the mouth, fondled and told not to tell anyone, Alexandre knew it felt wrong but shamefully admits to having felt special for being chosen, as father Preynat was seen as a man of good faith by the institution.
Wondering how many others there are suffering in silence, with help from a church executive, Alexandre finds the courage to confront the priest about his abuse. Cold and non-sympathetic, Father Preynat only admits to being ill and asks for prayer but not forgiveness. As Alexandre is dissatisfied with the way things are handled, he reaches out to higher-ups in the church and is told to forget his childhood and move on. As he begins to push forward, others reveal themselves as victims of Father Preynat’s abuse. At first, François does not want to go public as he feels he has moved on with his life but he actually becomes a strong voice in the fight to make the incident known to the public. He attracts Emmanuel who has and is still been deeply affected by his abuse and the three take on one of the most powerful and protected institutions there is, the Catholic Church.
Not surprisingly, even after gaining media attention about pedophilia in the Catholic Church, Father Preynat had not been stripped of his title and is still allowed to work with children even after admitting he had a mental illness and has abused many children.
When I walked into the elevator after watching this film, I was surrounded by three men and as we all looked at each other, one laughed and said to me, “I’m so happy I’m not Catholic.” I immediately told him that this type of abuse happens in every religion. Sexual predators and pedophiles do not discriminate on religion, I doubt they ask children before abusing them what their religious beliefs are. This film is another reminder that we need to continue to open more eyes about pedophilia in religious institutions. Our children need to know what is acceptable behavior and what is not when it comes to adults in authority. We need to eradicate this terrible silent rule about not speaking up about sexual abuse wherever it is happening whether in church, schools, prisons or our own homes.
In Theaters Friday, October 18th
