The Confessions movie review & film summary (2017)
We soon see that the humble monk, who will set aside his vow of silence for this sojourn, has been invited to join a gathering of ministers from G8 countries (still including Russia), a meeting that also involves the International Monetary Fund. At the group’s initial dinner, the weekend’s sense of dramatic importance is underscored, but the intent is left entirely muddy. Are these representatives of the world’s most prosperous countries working on a plan to excuse the debts of their poorest brethren, or are they about to put the screws to the poorer nations even more forcefully than before?
The dinner is presided over by the head of the IMF, a sternly imposing man named Daniel Roché (Daniel Auteuil, excellent as ever). From the first, there are absurdly incongruous elements to this gathering. Besides Salus, it inexplicably includes a famous author of children’s books (Connie Nielsen) and a rock star (Johan Heldenberg), who leads the group in a postprandial sing-along of Lou Reed’s “Walk on the Wild Side,” with risqué lyrics that jar against the monk’s austere presence.
After dinner, we learn why Salus has been invited to the gathering. Roché asks the monk to his quarters and says he wants him to hear his confession. We don’t see the confession as the scene progresses, however. Rather, the film cuts away and returns to the confession in flashbacks later in the tale. The next morning, a shocking discovery is made: Roché has committed suicide by putting a plastic bag over his head. As it happens, the bag is one that Salus used to store his little tape recorder.
Did Salus record the confession? If so, where is the tape? And was the death really a suicide, or could it have been murder? These and other questions are asked as the group stirs around in consternation in the wake of the death’s discovery. There are expressions of concern that the markets will react violently when the news is announced on Monday.
All of this leads to a lot of hushed conversations, suspicious glances and nervous movements. As to whether the group’s plans—the nature of which remain murky—will continue, that’s an open question. Occasionally they receive querulous instructions via Skype from a stern woman, but her identity is as unclear as the gathering’s purpose.
