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Reviews of Recent Independent, Foreign, & Documentary Films in Theaters and DVD/Home Video
LOURDES
An element of cynicism takes an adversarial role opposite piety here—a bored security guard lazily blurts his favorite punch line: “‘Let’s go to Lourdes,’ said the Virgin, ‘I’ve never been there’”—but cynicism is not exactly what the film is about. Hausner uses hypocrisy as a backdrop for a more involved story. Sylvie Testud’s Christine may have her priorities confused according to strict Christian traditions, but the undeniable facts of her multiple sclerosis-induced paralysis almost demand it. Like many of the other tourists, she sees the pilgrimage as a convenient vacation, one of the few available for those with disabilities. In her state, Christine is immobile without a personal attendant at all times. Her young nurse pushes her through the lines, spoon-feeds her, and even prays for her as she lies motionless in bed. Hausner thus shows us that impiety is, first, in the mind. Discreet facial maneuvers—noticeable due to the combination of Testud’s smart performance and Hausner’s employment of subtle zooms and lingering camera angles—demonstrate her lack of self-pity, yet at the same time belie her religious devotion. Christine is no cynic, but has come to understand the modern Catholic experience as something to be appreciated for what it can offer both materially and spiritually. Comfort and safety, as provided in this community, are not purely material, as evidenced in the meticulous daily scheduling and the entire array of security and hospitality personnel, but these minor comforts do provide important spiritual support. Miraculous healing, however, puts this modern understanding into question. Miracles are inherently a paradox of faith. If one requires physical evidence of the presence of God, then one relies not on faith but on erudition. Perhaps it’s the reason the city of Lourdes has the feeling of a circus, and the miracles that of a lottery. Meticulously directed, the film describes in detail the experience from the perspective of a pilgrim. We often see only the sides and backs of heads, or watch the action from the back of the line. Hausner tempts us, though, with the specter of a
miracle. Like the two versed old pilgrims who speculate on who is going
to be cured this year, we also sit in anticipation, wondering if
Christine will walk again. We are as paralyzed as she, viewing the film
from this regimented perspective. The joy Christine might experience
should God heal her body would be matched only by the fear that the
impiety of her mind will be scrutinized as well—why her and not someone
more devout? (I don’t know whether it’s scarier that God doesn’t
exist, or that He does.) Michael Lee
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Austrian director Jessica Hausner’s third feature is
set in the French pilgrimage destination, where a peasant
girl claimed to have seen the Virgin Mary in 1858. Pilgrims daily make a regimented pass
through a sacred waterfall—the slow-moving lines resembling a theme
park—and attend masses at Catholic megachurches that seem more committed
to pageantry than proselytism. Not only the pious flock to Lourdes. The
physically sick and infirm bathe in “Lourdes water,” as it’s advertised,
where miracles of healing are reported to happen. The thriving tourism
industry relies on those hoping to be cured, and also on those hoping to
bear witness to such a miracle.