Lourdes (2009) Reviews

• What you think you saw is not what is there

  paasa-32010-04-26

  This movie was shot in Lourdes, with the agreement of Church authorities, but after watching it we have to think if today the outcome would be the same. It's a very slow movie that follows in a documentary way a group of pilgrims during a week in Lourdes. It shows the spiritual believes and hopes of people, but also the business, the envy and greed that establishes between the group, when a "miracle" finally occurs. The main issue is: why her and not me? After all, people are there to have a spiritual experience or to be healed? And if so, what should we (they) do to be the ones to receive it? Also, we witness the process of acknowledging a miracle, with all the caution put into it by church doctors. The most interesting thing here is that nothing is explicitly told, but if you "look" into what is going on with a critic mind, you will notice that there is a lot more behind "believing". I really think that being religious or not has an influence on how you understand this movie, due to the almost casual way that things are shown. And there is a tremendous irony going on there.

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• Richly rewarding

  tomgillespie20022011-07-05

  Christine (Sylvie Testud) is wheelchair-bound, and is suffering from multiple sclerosis. She travels to the pilgrimage site of Lourdes in the Pyrenees Mountains to both escape from her isolation, and seek some kind of answers to her situation. Compared to the other pilgrims, Christine has little faith in God. Yet while she's there, she miraculously gains controls of her limbs and she rises from her wheelchair. The church are quick to jump on it as a 'miracle', but seek medical advice in order to confirm this. The film never takes a stance in regards to its attitude to either religion or spirituality, to the point where the 'miracle' that takes place takes a backseat. This is a film that is more concerned with its characters' plight, and how the people around Christine react to the possible miracle that they witness. It does, if anything, portray the Catholic faith in a positive light. The priest seeks all the medical advice he can get before he will believe it as a miracle, and the helpers at Lourdes (minus one rather self-involved girl) are shown to have genuine love for the work they do, and its importance. But it does also show the slightly ridiculous side, as the Church will only recognise it as an 'official' miracle if it ticks certain boxes. it does not linger on the idea of faith, as previously stated, but instead how it corrupts, bewilders, and enchants the people around Christine. Some of the pilgrims talk bitterly between themselves and doubt her sincerity, to the point where they begin to dismiss the idea of miracles, which is the very thing that they went to Lourdes to experience. One of the male helpers initially shows an interest in Christine, glancing and smiling at her every now and then. Yet when she begins to walk again, he seems to almost completely fall for her, much to the jealousy of one of the female workers. It's a startling commentary on how humanity can be corrupted and influenced by the idea of religion. Lourdes is a quiet, gentle and ponderous portrayal of a woman desperately seeking an answer to her illness and finding it in the last place she would expect. It doesn't force its ideas down your throat, but instead it lets it flow across the small interactions and expressions of its characters. The pace may sometimes come to a standstill, but this is a richly rewarding experience from one of Austria's most exciting new directors. www.the-wrath-of-blog.blogspot.com

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• Lourdes

  lasttimeisaw2011-05-21

  Forgive my ignorance of neither Lourdes or theology, without a Catholic background, to me the miracles sound hyperbolic and outlandish at first, but after watching the film, even though being an agnostic, some kind of insight surfaced upon my mind's eye that the miracle itself could be a fatal burden to whom it is granted, which is my very direct response, which I am not sure would be the prime aim of the director, for me, it does pique my curiosity definitely. Due to the fact that the mystery has still been in a moot beyond any explanation by now, the third feature from Austrian director Jessica Hausner (whose previous film is a haunting ghost story - HOTEL 2004) cannily digresses the mythological topic of the epiphanic moment, instead, the film focuses directly on the individuals of the pilgrim group (thought from a restrained distance), the most noteworthy comes from their blunt reactions before/after the miraculous event, which unavoidably compass piety, expectation, sympathy versus selfishness, jealousy, gloating, envy and bitterness. As a matter of fact it is more like a discreet dissertation on a test of humanity, which literally and cruelly reveals the inconvenient truth that it is our soul needs to be cured. What I truly commend here is the laconic shots, the full-blown palette and a calm stance which is pervasive throughout the entire movie, all of which establish a sincere austerity and mercy to its views, plus the non-intrusion composition drastically enhances the solemnity and sacrality of its proposition The female protagonist Sylvie Testud's performance is extraordinarily astute, despite of her word-deficient and gesture-limited role while the supporting group is also tellingly awesome, terse but impressive!

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• Thought-provoking and moving

  ajs7092010-03-28

  I think this film brings to the fore some very interesting and fundamentally important issues. I didn't find it an easy film to watch, due to the challenging nature of these issues, but ultimately i found it rewarding and thought provoking. Disability is always a difficult area to portray on screen, but this film did so without resorting to patronisation or irreverence; I thought Sylvie Testud was magnificent and i really related to her feelings of isolation and anger that manifested themselves prior to her "healing". The attitudes of the other disabled pilgrims to her after this healing were also wonderfully depicted; why her and not me? The wheel-chair bound Mr. Hruby and the mother of another disabled girl react with an uncomfortable but natural jealousy to the miracle. And we then get to the matter of faith; for all the cynicism that surrounds Lourdes and the "touristy" nature of it (which is undisputed), the open displays of faith and the essence of hope cannot be underestimated. I found the scenes focusing on faith very moving; for all the criticism of particularly the Catholic church of late, one cannot dispute or try and detract from the faith of those who "believe". This was the heart of the film, for me. Although one could say that it is almost a parody of Lourdes and all it stands for, the faith of those who make the pilgrimages there cannot be disputed. The film raised these questions without ever offering answers; for such difficult and essential subjects that is all it can ever do. It certainly made me ask questions of myself, which is exactly what a film should do.

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• Miracles do exist

  stensson2010-08-03

  A girl with MS can't move her body, except for the face muscles. She goes to Lourdes, the place of miracles. She's not just tired of her life, she's of course also envious about life of others. Usually, it's obvious there on the screen you shall look. Not here. Long takes, many extras, everybody make their moves and everybody is interesting, although you may forget them for a while, watching others. Quietly, so many believable emotions are to be found here. Jealousy, slight passion, hopes, disappointments. And after a while you're not watching, you're among these pilgrims, and although you've never been in this environment, you recognize everything. And Sylvie Testud is superb.

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