St. Vincent de Paul led a remarkable life. Born into poverty, sold into slavery in Africa after being kidnapped at sea by Turkish pirates, he eventually rose to become a trusted advisor to queens, princes, and nobility.

Even more remarkable was the way this unassuming priest used his influence and abilities to bring about a major change in social consciousness throughout France, one that made its effects felt all over Europe and eventually the whole world. Five centuries earlier St. Francis of Assisi, born to wealthy parents, had sparked a spiritual revolution by gathering together men and women and teaching them to live as beggars. Vincent sparked another revolution by gathering together men and women and teaching them to feed and shelter beggars.
 

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Monsieur Vincent, director Maurice Cloche’s beautifully crafted, award-winning biopic of St. Vincent de Paul, celebrates the saint’s single-minded devotion to the poor without romanticizing the objects of his devotion and recipients of his charity. Vincent himself (Pierre Fresnay in a moving performance), though he urges his followers to regard the poor as their masters, admits frankly that they are "masters who are terribly insensitive and demanding… dirty and ugly… unjust and foul-mouthed." Yet he is adamant that, the harder they are to serve, "the more you will have to love them."

Excerpt of Steven D. Greydanus' review at DecentFilms.com located HERE