Kattiera Nana I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Cortechba Overrated

Catangro After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

Kinley This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

FilmCriticLalitRao Films about religion tend to be vociferous as they need to convince viewers about the importance and role of religion in their daily lives. The name of an important Italian film "The Gospel According to St. Matthew" (Il Vangelo secondo Matteo) directed by Pasolini immediately comes to mind as it has been universally hailed as one of the best films about religion.As a film about religion,"Lourdes" does make a mark for itself as a different kind of religious film as it does not take the usual route of unnecessary commotion and hero worship.This has a lot to do with the fact that it appears more as a publicity film for religious pilgrimage.However,despite these good qualities Lourdes appears as a colossal failure as it fails to convey any kind of serious message about religion.Viewers do not know what the film wishes to convey as a large part of the film is devoted to show the pilgrimage site with occasional scenes of hilarity in which minor characters participate with all their might.A liberal viewer might take it casually but for serious people it could be a case of sacrilege.Much of the film features wooden acting by French actress Sylvie Testud.If past work is any indication of a director's talent then it can be said that Austrian director Jessica Hausner has made better films namely Lovely Rita and Hotel.With Lourdes,she has made a huge failure which is unable to stir viewers' emotions about the importance of religion in their lives.Lastly,the film's complete lack of seriousness is highlighted in scenes wherein some actors mock the very figures for which the pilgrimage is organized.

tomgillespie2002 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

Sindre Kaspersen Austrian screenwriter and director Jessica Hausner's third feature film film which she wrote, premiered In competition at the 66th Venice Film Festival in 2009, was screened in the Contemporary World Cinema section at the 34th Toronto International Film Festival in 2009, was shot on location in France and is a France-Germany-Austria co-production which was produced by producers Martin Gschlacht, Philippe Bober and Suzanne Marian. It tells the story about a young woman with Multiple Sclerosis named Christine. She is chained to a wheelchair and can only get out if she signs up for cultural or Christian trips. Christine has previously visited Rome, but her next destination is Lourdes, the iconic site of pilgrimage in the Pyrenees Mountains.This finely tuned fictional tale is set in the Christian pilgrimage town Lourdes in France, a fine choice of location, where the Virgin Mary apparently appeared to a 14-year-old girl named Bernadette Soubirous in 1858, and Austrian filmmaker Jessica Hausner tells the story about a reserved though smiling and obliging woman who arrives at Lourdes hoping to be cured of her chronic illness. Jessica Hausner's quiet reflection of the intangibility concerning miracles and peoples individual relations to their faith is intellectually debated and asks several interesting questions that are also answered. All though her film has elements of divinity by it in the use of music and some remarkable scenes, it is by no means an overly religious film. "Lourdes" is rather a concentrated study of an enigmatic theme and a film where the characters reactions and reception to the abstract is the core and where the existential converges with the mysterious and the distinct with the abstract.Austrian cinematographer Martin Gschlacht's skillful and structural cinematography compliments Jessica Hausner's clear vision, and her steady, stringent and partly static direction is at its best when she films the main character from versatile perspectives and creates describing portraits of an archetype character, excellently played by French actress, screenwriter and director Sylvie Testud in a vital and radiating interpretation of a character that only has her face and her words to express herself with. Most actors delivers convincing acting and Jessica Hausner's film has a strong humane warmth that shines through the heroine's being, and an elusive atmosphere which is effectuated by the esoteric faces of the guests and employees at the place that has been called the Catholic Church's answer to Disneyland. An innovating and artistic film from a director with a recognizable personal style where one is left feeling like having seen something that lasted significantly longer than its running time.

writers_reign I can't recall ever being disappointed by Sylvie Testud. She is akin to a younger generation Isabelle Huppert in that she is happy to work in areas about as far from the Multiplex circuit as you can get and often her films attract little or no comment on IMDb - Cause toujours, Victoire, The Heritage etc. Here she is again, acting largely with her eyes as 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. Testud as always is superb and the film should be seen for her alone if nothing else.