The Stranger

The year is 1349 and the plague is spreading across Europe. The local leaders of the Catholic Church, running around in floppy felt hats, have the brilliant idea of persecuting anyone who thinks it's possible the disease has natural causes—like, say, all these filthy rats. The Jewish alchemist? Onto the stake with him! Meanwhile, a minstrel played by the elfin British folk-psychedelic singer/songwriter Donovan, who wrote and performs all the songs in this 1972 Jacques Demy musical, comes into town to spread his hippie-dippy brand of looking on the bright side. The rats find the songs catchy enough to follow Donovan en masse into the river. To the lone straggler on the bridge, Donovan bends over and says, "I'm sure you don't treat each other as badly as we do." Still, all the sweetness has a morbid tinge, like the festive wedding scene when rats suddenly claw their way out of a massive church-shaped cake. By Christopher Frizzelle