Divine Words

In a Galicia village circa 1920, no priest exists, so the sacristan Pedro Gailo wields the local ecclesiastical authority. He shares guardianship of a hydrocephalus-afflicted child with his wife Mari Gaila, who uses the boy to beg for alms. The village’s poverty and strict social codes frame the opening of the story.

Mari and her sister-in-law Marica manage the child's guardianship and turn him into a money-making spectacle at fairs. They travel from village to fairground, wheedling alms from pitying crowds. Pedro worries about reputation but remains driven by money.

Mari leaves San Clemente for the nearest city, stepping into a world of music, cattle fairs, and colorful people. There she attracts the attention of nomadic beggars and powerful individuals, especially the handsome outlaw Septimio Miau. The journey marks her first brush with a wider, more dangerous freedom.

After a mild flirtation with Septimio, Mari leaves for home loaded with money. The encounter fuels rumors and invites greater risk, pulling her toward a wilder life beyond the village. The road back to San Clemente becomes a threshold to trouble.

Back in San Clemente, townspeople gossip about Mari's sudden wealth and newfound freedom. She teams up with Septimio, deciding to run off with him while continuing to exploit the hydrocephalus child as a freak display. The scheme tightens as their relationship deepens in secrecy.

While Mari and Septimo lie together, locals at the tavern poison the child with alcohol, causing his death. The tragedy brutally exposes the fragility of their exploitation and the crowd's appetite for spectacle. The event shatters their plans and cascades into further ruin.

Septimo deserts Mari, leaving her weakened and desperate. Pedro uses his nephew's corpse to attract attention in other villages, publicly displaying it to make money, a grotesque turn in the sacristan's ambitions. The moral rot of the village becomes clearer as blame shifts and money remains the motive.

Septimo returns and Rosa la Tatula acts as a go-between, attempting to mend the lovers' rift and reinstate their affair. The tensions among the community surface as old rivalries and new schemes collide. The outline of a fragile truce forms, tempered by mistrust.

Mari and Septimo reunite in a forest, consummating their affair amid the watchful eyes of jealous neighbors. The secrecy and risk heighten as the couple's bond intensifies. The forest becomes a stage for clandestine passion and social snubbery.

Back in the village, Mari is stripped, spat upon, mocked, and stoned by the crowd. The humiliation crystallizes the town's suspicion of sin and morality, while the onlookers confront their own complicity in the cruelty. The moment marks a pivotal collapse of Mari's standing and agency.

Pedro pronounces the Latin words 'Let him who is free of sin cast the first stone,' halting the crowd's vengeance with a moment of ironic mercy. The crowd disperses, and people reflect on their motives while the scene shifts from judgment to ambiguity. Pedro's gesture reframes the event in sanctimony and doubt.

In the aftermath, Pedro maintains a saintly pose, forgiving Mari and preserving a sense of holiness. Mari appears almost saintly herself, his pose and her demeanor suggesting a paradox between sin and grace. The film closes on a claustrophobic world of peasants who are downtrodden yet capable of mercy.