Lourdes [Blu-ray] [Import]

This is a nice little film. It is relatively short (just over an hour and a half). Not a lot happens (except for one miracle of sorts). The pace is slow, even by Euro standards. But it is extremely pleasant and well worth a watch. The acting is excellent, including some of the less-noticeable minor characters, like the various invalid pilgrims and those who assist them. The visuals are lovely, and the film truly captures the atmosphere of being in Lourdes. There are many beautiful scenes of mountains, basilicas, processions, meals at table, and visits to the grotto-- all captured reverently, but not preachingly. That is perhaps the film's greatest point: it opens us up to the possibilities of faith, but also leads us to inquire how the spirit moves in our own lives. It is not a "religious" film at all, with all the preaching and dogmatics that might imply. But nor is it another simple screed against the limits of religion and the stupidity of those who believe. To the contrary, this film holds open the possibilities of faith, while at the same time reminding us that life-- in this life, and in the realm of belief-- can be complicated and seldom as simple as proponents on either side might like us to think.

This movie was an enormous let down. I had read nothing about the movie and knew absolutely nothing about it, so as I started watching it I was pleasantly surprised by how well shot and well acted it was. The pace was slow but smooth, every gesture with meaning, and the shots well framed and beautiful. That is what earned it two stars - that extra star is due to the hard work of the director. If I could give it two and a half stars, I would. But it doesn't really deserve three.

~*SPOILERS AHEAD - If you have not watched this movie yet and don't want it spoiled, stop reading here.*~

I really loved this film, up until roughly the last fifteen minutes. I am a staunch Roman Catholic. I had absolutely no problem with how brutally realistic the movie was - it was done in a tasteful way, and there seemed to be a solid understanding of morals throughout the film with realistic consequences for people's actions. The young and somewhat selfish female volunteer who slept with one of the male volunteers soon saw that man slip through her grasp. The gossiping, envious old shrews did not have their prayers answered, no matter how "devout" they pretended to be. The pious old woman of few words who spent most of her time in prayer and performing acts of charity helped to facilitate a miracle - almost. That is the really annoying part of this movie - the *almost* miracles. Halfway through the film when "miracles" began happening in an understated, extremely touching manner, I thought that this was going to be one of the best religious films that had come out in the last few years. But then, when they all mysteriously undo themselves, and the writer decides that miracles don't exist, that God likely doesn't exist (and if He does, He is not a kind and just God), that life is ultimately meaningless, random, and cruel, the film lost me.

Here's the thing - there are countless films with the exact same anti-Catholic, anti-Christian, anti-religious message. There is nothing unique, edgy, or clever about this kind of plot twist. There are a plethora of such movies out there, but at least most of them are honest as to what their message is from the very beginning, so that someone who has religious convictions can dump the film a few minutes in as soon as the tomfoolery starts. The fact that this movie's focus is on a site where Our Lady has appeared in recent memory, a site that is quite dear to Roman Catholics the world over, a site that has been the source of countless miracles, obviously leads any Catholic to believe that this movie will be focused on miraculous happenings and God's Love for mankind. Instead, I got to waste an hour and a half of my life on a film that denigrates my faith, much like almost every other movie to come out in the last forty or so years.

To those who are arguing that the ending was "ambiguous" - no it wasn't. There are countless clues in the dialogue and behavior of the surrounding characters, as well as the main character, that show the writer clearly intended to give the impression that no miracle had occurred and/or that God is some cruel, distant being. The only way it could be clearer is if the priest himself had gotten up on the stage and said "Sorry folks, no miracles here, let's just go home and turn to a life of hedonism because our religion is obviously superstitious nonsense and God doesn't care anyway."

In short, if you are a committed atheist or secularist, you'll probably love this movie. Everyone else will likely feel cheated.

The title hints at a documentary structure,Lourdes is the French town at the base of the Pyrennes,synonymous with the notion of miraculous cures. This movie was shot in Lourdes, with the agreement of Church authorities.The film is subtly hedging its agnostic bets,beautifully filmed and composed with long-shot or side-angled photography. Testud as Christine,a young qudraplegic woman with MS,who is wheel-chair bound and comes as a `pilgrim'to Lourdes. She can't see why she's been afflicted and wants more from life, to be like `normal' people.Jessica Hausner, an Austrian film-maker,wanted not to mock the idea of spiritual comfort or bodily repair,she wanted to do a test-case healing,but with such precision and sardonic wit,that the repercussions,envy,insight into the pilgrims' minds, the fall-out,of the miracle that is not, are superbly rendered.The attitudes of other pilgrims to Christine after her healing are wonderfully depicted,why her and not me? There is a Greek chorus in the two fellow pilgrims,garrulous fraus,Huber and Spor.Also we get the concurrent life of the Order of Malta volunteers,whose lack of piety and flirting with each other,mirror in some way Christine's low-key response to a miracle cure.Has she merely won on the lottery to find out her ticket has the wrong numbers?Is she a higher form of traveler in a ghastly cultural/ spiritual package tour?Christine seems to compete with Maria,a volunteer for the attentions of Kuno,an older man Order helper.We get a reflection of different degrees of spirituality:some like Cecille who overdo it,a stickler for religious protocol and religious respect,doesn't believe in miracles, collapses.Frau Hartl is too serious.

There is the hint of Jacques Tati's influence with the choreography of movement of the crowd scenes,the sublime in the form of a comedy of manners.Christine,a wheelchair confined invalid going along for the ride on a pilgrimage to Lourdes, by which I mean that it is a pilgrimage only for the group she is with, as 1) a sceptic and 2) bored and lonely because of her condition, she has more or less tagged along for lack of an alternative. There's a nice mix of satire and sentiment at work here as we note the commercial aspects of organised religion and the negative aspects of human nature masquerading as piety. But, her mind is vibrant, she seems to accept the help of nurse volunteers at Lourdes with a pleasant demeanor. She tells a priest, in confession, that she gets angry over her diagnosis and feels envious of able bodied people, like a nurse who is flirting with a man on the trip that she fancies. This is like a group tour, with a different activity each day: a hike through the grotto, a bath in the water, even an award at the end of the trip for the "Best Pilgrim." Christine has Frau Hartl stay with her. Their relationship is one of fellow pilgrims/caregiver, they barely talk or interact, except in a very distant fashion. A couple of the older volunteers hang together at night and discuss deep topics of faith and spirituality. Juxtapose that with Christine confessing to her nurse that she is not really a believer, she just goes on the pilgrimages because she can't really get out of the house for much else.When the inevitable miracle occurs, within the group, some are jealous, others are sceptical, others just wonder why some are chosen and others are not.A medical examination proves inconclusive.We get the wobble on the dance floor.The music consists of Schubert, Bach spiritual standards and some karaoke at the end.The colour scheme dominated by blue with some splashes of red.