Dairy of uncertanity

Of all the characters in the movie the old woman is most distinct. Not only because of her dealings with her pride, loss and family, but because of the importance she has posed to the young priest.

Unlike the young girls and perhaps the old priest, his relationship with her isn't quite so personal. Here he is faced with the challenge of getting her to open up about her son, which is hard due to his poor social skills, the daughters and counts interference etc. His arguments which revolve around faith are more significant here for he has very recently had a crisis of conscious. His attempts at talking to her, an evidently prideful and strong person, show his lack of social skills, or maybe just unwillingness to compromise. His advice to her about her son can very easily be interpreted as threats. 

The line "God isn't a torturer" is one of the best in the movie. This scene demonstrates what is done constantly throughout the rest of the movie. Ask questions about faith through the beliefs and personal interactions of the characters. There is nothing to suggest that his advice actually helped her and that his words did not cause her much pain. There is a moral ambiguity in his actions that seems to work in the opposite direction of his religious narrative. The viewer is kept guessing about the usefulness of the priests actions. 

The doctor who kills himself was also interesting for his insistence that the both of them were of a similar kind, and the fact he kills himself in blatant violation of his own motto "Face up to it “draws parallels to the young priest. Both of them had problems of faith. The Doctors loss of faith was lethal. Or at least that is what the old priest would have one believe.

The young girl who went from begin indifferent to dependent on his role as a priest was also interesting. It was interesting to see the priest try to make sense of her dislike towards her family and very rebellious nature while also being unable to control her. The fact that she ends up saving his life really drives home the point that the priest is very sickly and may not be able to perform his duties properly.

The older priest who on seeing him break a wine glass and says "You can't escape it...You were pickled in it.." sums up the young priests role in the parish. He is unable to escape it, he isn't in charge of most of what happens or where he goes, the entire movies is about his thoughts about faith ,as fate drags him into new predicaments and dilemmas which he can do little to escape. 

 He constantly doubts himself, worried his actions are cowardly. He worries god will punish him for his incompetence. In every dealing with every character in the movie the priest seems to be looking for some sort of relief or peace to help him deal with his own life.

Overall it was a very interesting movie with a lot of questions and moral dilemmas beings asked in many ways through relatively few characters, actively encouraging the viewer to question the motives and usefulness of everyone's actions.