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Sylvie Testud, Léa Seydoux, Bruno Todeschini, Gilette Barbier, Gerhard Liebmann ... see more see more... , Elina Löwensohn , Katharina Flicker , Linde Prelog , Heidi Baratta , Jacques Pratoussy , Waler Benn , Hubsi Kramar , Helga Illich , Bernadette Schneider , Thomas Uhlir , Martin Thomas Pesl , Petra Morzé , Orsolya Toth

A woman searching for a miracle seemingly finds one -- but what comes next? Christine (Sylvie Testud) has spent most of her life confined to a wheelchair, unable to use her arms and legs, and while sh... read more read more...e has a keen mind and the means to seek treatment, she looks for a solution to her condition in faith as well as medical science. Christine has made a pilgrimage to Lourdes, the village in Southwestern France where a celebrated miracle is said to have occurred, and she checks into an upscale clinic where a young nurse named Maria (Léa Seydoux) is assigned to look after her. Christine imagines that she and Maria are becoming fast friends, but the nurse prefers to spend her time with her co-workers rather than her patients, and she often flirts with Kuno (Bruno Todeschini), a handsome man who also works at the clinic. Christine finds herself having several conversations with Mme. Hartl (Gilette Barbier), who has a powerful belief in the healing powers of the waters of Lourdes, and after several days of treatment, Christine is amazed to find that she's regained the full use of her arms and legs. But once she's experienced the miracle she hoped for, Christine's interest is less in thanking the Lord and more in pursuing Kuno. Lourdes was written and directed by Jessica Hausner, and received its world premiere at the 2009 Venice International Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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65% liked it

1,414 ratings

Critics

92% liked it

39 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 39 min.

Directed by: Jessica Hausner

Release Date: February 17, 2010

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DVD Release Date: July 12, 2010

Stats: 106 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (106)

  • SirPant
    April 14, 2010
    SirPant
    Destined to be misunderstood it seems, Lourdes - a film about a young woman in a wheelchair, paralysed with MS embarking on a pilgrimage to Lourdes, the holy retreat in the southwest of France that many believe to be a place of miracle healing after a visitation of Mary to a loca... read morel many years ago - to be a film about religion (Christianity), faith, the existence of God and the possibility of miracles. It's not though, that's just a narrative to uphold what the film is really about, people (although obviously faith is explored but in the context of the human condition rather than as in religious/catholic faith). Every human emotional trait is explored, and quite wonderfully so. It's subtle and accurate but never preachy, pompous or pretentious. It is also my favourite film of the year/decade so far. Jessica Hausner is a director I'm definitely going to be looking out for and Sylvie Testud is a wonderful actress who I'm equally on oar of. I could write so much more but I'm not going to, do yourself a favour and just go see it asap!
  • hypathio7
    March 26, 2010
    hypathio7
    I saw this at the Cleveland International Film Fest. It reminded me a bit of Fellini's Nights of Cabiria especially with its presentation of Catholic rituals.

    Sylvie Testud does a wonderful job in portraying Christine as a real person with real depth. But there is a great ca... read morest of characters surrounding her. I found that the movie is really about how the whole group of pilgrims seeking healing and the red cross helpers react to Christine and the miracle promising site of Lourdes. The movie is slowly paced. Sometimes the camera lingering over the landscape or faces that are still and quiet seems a bit much. But when it lingers on the religious ceremonies and holy places it reveals the repetition and sometimes meaninglessness of these old traditions. People put so much hope in them anyways. I think that this movie was made in a way though that will let believers continue to believe and non-believers continue to doubt. It is ambiguous. I liked some of the advice the head priest and the head lady of the red cross gave a couple times though I disagreed with their assuming that all miracles and personal changes are a result of faith in God, Jesus, or Mother Mary. I liked hearing the doctors' scientific explanation for the roller coaster ebbing and flowing of multiple sclerosis symptoms. I liked the questions the two single middle aged ladies asked throughout as they try to make sense of it all.
  • gator681
    February 28, 2010
    gator681
    "Lourdes" is a disarming rumination on the nature of faith that maintains a documentaty like distance in observing a group of pilgrims at Lourdes, starting with them arriving for a meal. Their leader Cecile(Elina Lowensohn) informs that since they have had such a long journey th... read moreat day, they will wait until tomorrow to move onto the grotto and that a prize will be awarded to whoever is the best pilgrim. Actually preferring the cultural sites, Christine(Sylvie Testud) is paralyzed by multiple sclerosis and needs help even to eat and get into bed and feels life is passing her by. These tours are the only way for her to get out of the house.

    Lourdes is renowned for its miracles but there is a great deal of skepticism given to any reported. Why some people, and not others? The official line is hedging its bets, wanting to cure the soul, not the body.(Whether they enjoy the idea of the sick suffering is a matter for debate.) On the one hand, the city needs the idea of miracles to drive the tourist business and sell souvenirs. On the other, what would happen if everybody were cured, since there is such a large industry formed around the caretakers?
  • lesleyanorton
    July 29, 2010
    lesleyanorton
    So thats what Lourdes is like? What a depressing place. An endless procession of ritual and prayer, hope and despair, and maybe, just maybe the chance of a miracle, but most likely, not a chance. A thought-provoking, slow (well, your main character IS paralized from the neck dow... read moren) and pragmatic film about the possibilities of faith and grace..
  • Ghw12158
    November 3, 2011
    Ghw12158
    thought this was a doc but its not a story of some pilgrims going to and visiting lordes looking 4 miracles-one finds one.

View All Lourdes Reviews

Critic Reviews

David Lewis
August 13, 2010
David Lewis, San Francisco Chronicle

One of the most observant -- and enigmatic -- movies of the year. Full Review

Lisa Schwarzbaum
March 3, 2010
Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly

Beautifully led by birdlike Sylvie Testud as an ailing young woman in a wheelchair, every character (pilgrim and helper alike) exhibits a soul. And shaped with confident talent by the Austrian filmmak... Full Review

Kyle Smith
February 19, 2010
Kyle Smith, New York Post

A paralyzed young woman with MS stands up and walks in Lourdes, but it'll be a real miracle if anyone manages to stay awake throughout this extravagantly dull film. Full Review

Daniel Eagan
February 18, 2010
Daniel Eagan, Hollywood Reporter

Adventurous filmgoers will be rewarded by its unusually open-ended storyline. Full Review

Manohla Dargis
February 17, 2010
Manohla Dargis, New York Times

Jessica Hausner, an Austrian working here in French, wants to explore the mysteries of life, not its certainties.

Karina Longworth
February 16, 2010
Karina Longworth, Village Voice

Lourdes ultimately eschews rigorous religious inquiry to study the mechanics of envy and frustrated desire. Full Review

Nick Davis
March 4, 2011
Nick Davis, Nick's Flick Picks

The withholding of judgment persists across Lourdes, which is comic, haunting, sweet, pious, unsettling, agnostic, and wholly deadpan at various moments. Full Review

Simon Miraudo
January 30, 2011
Simon Miraudo, Quickflix

Movies about miracles range from the awful to the unwatchable... that all changes with Jessica Hausner's Lourdes; it's a visually-striking, beautifully-realised, emotionally-devastating drama that bot... Full Review

Nick Schager
November 21, 2010
Nick Schager, Lessons of Darkness

[An] aesthetically and tonally controlled knockout. Full Review

Jeremy Heilman
July 18, 2010
Jeremy Heilman, MovieMartyr.com

An odd, dispassionate religious film that will likely be more powerful for skeptics than true believers, it manages to most strongly suggest the possibility of grace by so clinically observing its opp... Full Review

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Lourdes Trivia

  • Madonna's nickname for her daughter Lourdes is Lola. Where did this name come from?  Answer »
  • Where was Bernadette live in Song Of Bernadette ?  Answer »
  • In what movie was Madonna's daughter, Lourdes offered a role, but Madonna declined the offer because she wanted her daughter to live "a normal childhood?"  Answer »
  • Which actress/singer gave birth to baby Lourdes in 1996?  Answer »
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