EL CLUB/THE CLUB

Chilli, 2015, 95 minutes, Colour.
Directed by Pablo Larrain.

The Club seems something of a flippant name for the drama that unfolds.

This particular club is a house in an isolated town on the Chilean coast. Four men live there as well as a woman. However, the four men are all priests who have been removed from public ministry. One has dementia and has no knowledge of what he has done to merit his removal. Another is a priest who was a chaplain to the military, listening to the confessions of the personnel for seventeen years, noting everything in a book, which led to disapproval from the military, confiscation of the book (although he says he has everything in his memory), and the church sending him to this house. Another priest is guilty of selling unwanted babies on the black market to the wealthy, saying that you have the poor with your always and this was something of a service. The fourth priest is a paedophile, homosexual in orientation, who finds ways of justifying and even sanctifying his behaviour.

When another priest arrives and is suspicious, the four priests are not welcoming. But, outside the house, one of this priest’s victims is shouting, describing his sexual experiences in great and specific detail, the priest denying it but then shooting himself.

The upshot is that a Jesuit visitor, a psychologist with mission experience in Africa, is sent by officials to examine the priests, and to close down the house, even if it means sending the priests to the police and jail. He questions all the priests which gives the audience an opportunity to look at the priests, listen to them, try to understand their attitude towards the behaviour, justifying it, and living with it while accepting the punishment from the church.

Also in the house is a woman who has been a nun and has decided to stay in the house as housekeeper, caring for the priests, even defending them, not liking the visitor with the impression that he belongs to a new church.

The film shows the life of the priests in some detail, especially their particular interest in training a greyhound and racing it. But, with a kind of vengeance, greyhounds in the town are killed by the priests and the sister kills their own pet greyhound – leading to a lynch-mob against the victim of the sexual abuse.

The visiting priest is shocked at this behaviour takes pity on the wounded victim, talking with him, and bringing him into the house, holding it over the priests and the sister that they have two take him in and care for him. He will not report them.

While there have been many films about priests, and especially about paedophile priests, this one is challenging with the broader range of offences. In terms of paedophilia, the priest rationalises his behaviour, talks about love, that formerly homosexuality was frowned and is now pronounced on as God’s gift, and the effect of his interaction with the boy whom he abused.

This is of particular interest in the situations of the churches of Latin America and of Chile, Catholic countries facing up to the realities of abuse. While some think of this kind of film as an attack on the church, it is an attack on aspects of the church, on individuals and church authorities.

The film was directed by Pablo Larrain, internationally known for his Tony Manero and his political film, No. (His wife portrays the sister in the house.)

1. The title, the quotation from Genesis 1, road separating liked from darkness? The house for the priests? Their life together? Like a club or not?

2. The town on the coast, the house, the surroundings, the sea and the beach, the greyhound races? The solemn musical score?

3. The phenomenon of clerical sexual abuse? Throughout the world? In Chile? The role of the church, cover-ups, will ansferring priests, taking them out of circulation? Other misdemeanours, especially the priest who was is the army chaplain and had a diary of all the confessions? The priests responsible for selling unwanted babies couples?

4. The house, the four priests, their age, personalities, interactions? Sister Monica as housekeeper? Her explaining the rules to the newcomer? The daily routines, prayer, meals, mass, rosary? Their free time?

5. The arrival of Father Mattias, his appearance, his denial? The reaction of the other priests? His getting the upstairs room? The arrival of Sandokan and his calling out, the graphic language and descriptions? The priests and wanting to scare him off with the gun? Father Mattias going out, looking at him, shooting himself? The priests and their later cover-up, saying they were watching reality television, his going outside, killing himself? Sister Monica and her scrubbing the steps afterwards?

6. The characters of the priests? Living with one another? Experiencing it as a jail? The arrival of Father Garcia, Jesuit, missionary in Africa? His commission, the closure of these houses, the interviews and the priests telling lies about the circumstances of the suicide? The individual interrogations, the different reactions? The greyhound racing and his attendance? The old priest and his memory was gone but who repeated Sandokan’s graphic sexual descriptions? The cynical priest, his drinking, his talking about the poor, the selling of the babies? The military chaplain, the diaries, his being exiled, memories of the dictatorship?

7. Father Garcia, his psychological training, his ways of conducting the interviews, sharing the life with the priests, forbidding them to drink? His attitude towards the greyhounds? His interrogations of Sister Monica, lying, then telling the truth?

8. Sister Monica, the influence of John Paul II, becoming a nun, going to Africa, return, distant from her family, withdrawing from the convent? Caretaking, sweeping, cooking? The rules? In herself, devout, religious, loyalty to the church, the old church? Attitudes towards Father Garcia and his closing down the house? Complicit in the denial about Sandokan? The greyhounds, racing, the better, the winnings? Sandokan and his presence? The decision about killing the greyhounds, the bag over the head of the dog? The priest trainer and his grief? Finally admitting the truth? The welcome to Sandokan, his staying?

9. The homosexual priest, the detail of his training the greyhound? Liking the dogs? His meeting exiled from his parish? His comments about homosexuality, previously condemned, now praised, God loving homosexuals? His story, the boy, the bed, face-to-face, spiritualising his relationship? Talking with the tourists on the beach? Offering payment for the bashing of Sandokan? Their punching him? The death of the dog, his grief, unable to forgive Sister Monica? His interactions with other Garcia? His accepting Sandokan?

10. The old priest, memory, no knowledge of his crimes? From the will 1960s? His vivid repetition of Sandokan’s graphic descriptions of sexual activities? His telling the truth about the gun?

11. The angry priest, drinking, the reasons for his being there, his comments about the poor, the unwanted children, the deceptions, selling them to couples? The poisoning of the dog?

12. The chaplain, the years, confessions, the secrets, keeping the diary, the threats from authority, having their details and his memory? His observations on the military, their crimes, guilt and regrets? The rest of the Pinochet era?

13. Sandokan, his scruffy appearance, at the gate, Father Mattias, the past relationship? His shouting, the very explicit details of all aspects of sexual encounter? His talk about the sanctifying of semen? The relationship with Father Mattias, the truth, he shooting himself in front of Sandokan? His trying to get work around the town, jobs, wandering, collecting the chair and other stuff to settle on the hill, the girl at the bar, the talk, the sexual encounter and his homosexual overtones? His being ousted? His talking with Father Garcia? The priests and Monica and the mob attitude, accusing Sandokan of killing the dogs? Lynch law, the brutality of the bashing? Father Garcia, carrying him away, washing his feet, kissing them, the Last Supper overtones? Sandokan clean and his neatness, getting the room upstairs, explaining about his wide range of medications? Staying?

14. The perspective of the director on the church, his own Catholic background, his knowing that there were good priests, careless priests, evil priests? The focus on sexual abuse – and the visual treatment by the church, sending the visitator, closing down the houses, the silence about abuse in Latin American countries compared with English-speaking countries? The prospective changes in the church’s attitude, the police, the law, no cover-ups?