We have a seemingly endless supply of films that focus on the intimate lives of priests, ranging from the stark realism of Robert Bresson’s Diary of a Country Priest, to the politically-charged complexities of Paul Schrader’s First Reformed, to the outright terrifying brutalism of Maurice Pialat’s Under the Sun of Satan. We’ve seen many stories told about priests in every conceivable genre, which isn’t a difficult phenomenon to understand – something about the idea of looking beneath the veneer of individuals in this profession older than civilized society itself in many ways is often an opportunity for an artist to either express their admiration and adoration for men of the cloth, or thoroughly eviscerate those that chose this path in their lives, depending on whether the director is aligned with faith or non-belief. One of the more insightful instances of such discussions comes in the form of Nanni Moretti’s The Mass Is Ended (Italian: La messa è finita), the charming and endearing comedy about a young priest returning to his home in Rome after a considerable amount of time working as a missionary in an isolated village, only to find that life in his hometown is far from as fulfilling as he remembered it being. He undertakes the journey to change the hearts and minds of his friends and family, but realizing the unfortunate reality that not even the most dedicated priest can convince those around him to believe in the beauty of life. Instead, his mission is no longer to help his peers see the brighter side of existence, but rather to prevent himself from falling into the same depression as those who surround him, a difficult endeavour considering how everyone seems to be operating under the guiding belief that life is long, banal and cannot end soon enough, which only motivates the young priest to work even harder to make his environment one driven by faith and virtue, rather than the loose-lipped cynicism he sees developing amongst his people.

Moretti’s career is truly fascinating to consider, since he’s a filmmaker who hasn’t necessarily followed a particular trajectory or developed a specific style, but rather has his work defined by his insatiable curiosity to explore a number of subjects, his tenacity being one of his most fundamental strengths as both a storyteller and visual artist. Each one of his films is told from the perspective of a filmmaker who has a keen interest in several topics, each one of them becoming the foundation for heartfelt, humane works that may not always follow a traditional pattern, but does provide the viewer with some truly entertaining content. The Mass Is Ended is a peculiar film – it is designed to be a comedy, and there are certainly many achingly funny scenes that are peppered throughout it. However, it’s more of a softhearted drama about a young priest with a good head on his shoulders returning home and discovering, to his absolute horror, that his surroundings have changed – not on a physical level, but rather in how those he left behind have become depressed and despondent to all the joys he remembers from before he left. The question Moretti poses is whether this is a result of the priest’s friends and family actually changing, or instead because the previous few years have found him developing a very different appreciation for life, which caused him to see his hometown and its occupants in a vastly different light. It’s an insightful and heartfelt exploration of how one’s perspective seems to change when shifting between different worlds, and throughout the film, Moretti makes the best of a very strong conceptual foundation to make some strong statements towards society and its tendency to often look for the negative, despite the efforts of many people to help elevate them above the perils of modern existence, and the existential ennui that comes along as a result.

One of the more fascinating aspects of The Mass Is Ended is that, despite the film centring on the story of a priest, it is remarkably not inextricably tied to religion. This is not a faith-based film, but rather one that works from a foundation formed from human curiosity, rather than abstract beliefs. Moretti has occasionally touched on the issue of faith in his career, but from the perspective of using it as a starting point for some deep and insightful explorations of the human condition (even one of his more recent films, the terrific We Have a Pope, is more a compelling character study merged with a socio-political thriller than it is a purely religious film). Ultimately, Moretti bases his stories around the subjects that interest him as a philosophical filmmaker, working from a position of observing human behaviour through the lens of the institutions that guide us. The Mass Is Ended uses the character of a priest returning to Rome as a facilitator for deep discussions on our perception of the world – it’s not bound by the pursuit of belief, with the character of Don Guilio not being too concerned about whether or not those around him accept God. His concern is one based on his desire to see these people, who have slipped into a state of existential angst, work their way out of this position and into one where the beauty of life can be appreciated, being found in even the most inconsequential of places. This remedy can only come from within – and the director ensures that the main character is not infallible, being someone just as vulnerable to the despair of modern life, as we can see in his gradual descent into hopelessness when he realizes his methods aren’t bearing fruit. This is where the most insightful conversations regarding the themes at the centre of the film come to fruition, when the story is stripped of everything except the bare essentials, and Moretti can comment, often very insightfully, on the nature of existence without coming across as heavy-handed.

The moments where The Mass Is Ended is the most compelling are in the sequences where Moretti’s protagonist (played by the director himself) is shown to be undeniably human. He is not the epitome of decorum and virtue, being subjected to the same temptations as those in his congregation. Not necessarily an instance of a film showing a crooked priest, but rather one where he’s developed to be far more than just the effortlessly principled man many consider priests to be, at least in terms of positive portrayals. So much of the film is built on creating an image of the main character as someone caught between his professional duties and personal lives – it explores how he struggles to maintain the dedicated, spiritual life he is expected to lead, gradually descending into the same depression that is experienced by his parishioners. It makes for a fascinating contrast, and Moretti proves to be as gifted an actor as he is a filmmaker, commanding the screen in the role of the meagre but complex priest who is only doing what he feels is best for his community, but struggling to maintain expectations behind closed doors. Much of the upbeat comedy that underpins The Mass Is Ended comes in how Don Giulio is constructed, with his efforts to assimilate back into urban society being fertile ground for some hilarious sequences, such as his attempts to reason with the particularly bad-tempered citizens who refuse to acknowledge his efforts come from a genuinely good place. There are some very funny moments, but they’re so carefully calibrated, they never take us out of the more sobering story, but instead serve to humanize these characters and strengthen to genuinely poignant concepts that reside at the centre of the narrative, working with the dramatic material to present audiences with a multilayered account of a priest who is quite literally preaching to the converted – it’s what they believe as a result that he is fighting to rectify.

The Mass Is Ended is a delightful film, and one that is defined by its warmth, joy and genuinely insightful commentary on the human condition. It may appear extremely simple – Moretti is not a director who places too much emphasis on the spectacle of his films, instead focusing on the smaller, more intimate moments that come through in genuinely moving moments of human interaction. A deft balance of both comedy and drama, told with the kind of razor-sharp precision that we’ve come to expect from Moretti, the film is a fascinating portrait of a society that may not be on the verge of falling apart, but instead exists on the brink of descending into complete apathy, with the only saviour being a man who man who has dedicated his life to religion, so much that the real world has become unrecognizable to him. It tracks his efforts to gradually move through the maddening crowds, making sense of the minor chaos that has enveloped the world he knew so well, all the while questioning whether his home has really changed, or if it’s his mindset that has shifted, leading to his bewilderment at the state of the world. The Mass Is Ended is a wonderful piece of filmmaking, and proof that Moretti is a major talent, the kind of social realist who doesn’t fear comedy, but readily embraces it, turning the most simple stories into enchanting accounts of humanity and its many idiosyncrasies, and showcasing both the best and worst the world has to offer, all through the guise of delicate but compelling storytelling that never falters, especially when dealing with some of the most fundamental issues surrounding society, all of which go into the creation of an undeniably special film about letting go of the small irritants that plague our lives, and instead embracing the genuinely moving aspects of existence that are worth celebrating.