Lourdes

2009

1h 36m

Drama

TRAILER

for Lourdes: Trailer 1

List

91%

44 Reviews

Tomatometer

69%

1,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Afflicted with multiple sclerosis, Christine makes a pilgrimage to the holy site of Lourdes in hopes of a miracle. Among thousands of ailed visitors, she proceeds through the well-oiled machinery of the religious tourist destination until the unbelievable happens: she is suddenly able to walk. As Christine becomes the object of wonder and envy, bolstering and testing the faith of her fellow pilgrims, the question remains whether all is as it seems.

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Critics Consensus

As bewitchingly ambiguous as it is beautifully shot, Lourdes explores profound themes with subtlety and a deft comic touch -- and a marvelous performance from its star, Sylvie Testud.

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Audience Member

Genteel to a fault but enormous detail in action, direction and intention by Testud and Seydoux

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/30/23

Full Review

richard i

There's much going on in this 'fly on the wall' style drama that is reminiscent (or perhaps prescient) of Ulrich Seidl's locked-off camera style that allows us to observe details at the edges of a shot that reveal much about the individuals involved. It takes loose aim at the fakery of the Lourdes 'experience', the battle that takes place between the enormous hope and optimism of the faithful and those who no longer believe in the possibility of miracles, with a beautifully orchestrated ending that leaves you wondering whether our heroine has won or lost her battle.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Man...religion is so weird. Beautiful movie though.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

It just dragged on and didn't engage me whatsoever despite the fact that my love was in it, Lea Seydoux....but hell, she was barely in it!

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/25/23

Full Review

Audience Member

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. 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.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/21/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A beautifully subtle lead performance from Sylvie Testud truly gifts this unusual and enigmatic film that can be read a multitude of ways (undoubtedly depending on the viewers own spirituality and/or religious beliefs), even to the point where it becomes unclassifiable (drama, black comedy, satire).

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/22/23

Full Review

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Jessica Hausner

Director

Sylvie Testud

Christine

Léa Seydoux

Maria

Bruno Todeschini

Kuno

Elina Löwensohn

Cecile

Gerhard Liebmann

Pater Nigl

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Lourdes: Trailer 1

1:35

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Nicolas Rapold

Film Comment Magazine

[Jessica Hausner's] thought experiment is an emotionally potent one.

Sep 24, 2014

Full Review

Joshua Rothkopf

Time Out

Rated: 5/5

Nov 17, 2011

Full Review

Nick Schager

Lessons of Darkness

[An] aesthetically and tonally controlled knockout.

Rated: A-

Nov 21, 2010

Full Review

Manu Yáñez

Otroscines.com

Lourdes doesn't manage to cross the boundaries that its own thesis proposes, straying from the possibility of an emotional response. [Full review in Spanish]

Oct 4, 2022

Full Review

Katherine McLaughlin

VODzilla.co

Hausner's quietly provocative piece of arthouse cinema is a great example of her ever-expanding oeuvre as she continues her ingenious investigation into human behaviour.

Rated: 8/10

Mar 13, 2021

Full Review

Nicole Ackman

FF2 Media

Hausner's 'Lourdes' handles religious faith and miracles with delicacy

Rated: 4/5

Feb 2, 2021

Full Review

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Synopsis

Afflicted with multiple sclerosis, Christine makes a pilgrimage to the holy site of Lourdes in hopes of a miracle. Among thousands of ailed visitors, she proceeds through the well-oiled machinery of the religious tourist destination until the unbelievable happens: she is suddenly able to walk. As Christine becomes the object of wonder and envy, bolstering and testing the faith of her fellow pilgrims, the question remains whether all is as it seems.

Director: Jessica Hausner
Screenwriter: Jessica Hausner
Production Co: Thermidor Filmproduktion, Coop99, Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF), Canal+, Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF) [at], Arte, Essential Filmproduktion GmbH, Société Parisienne de Production
Genre: Drama
Original Language: French (Canada)
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 26, 2020
Box Office (Gross USA): $9.4K
Runtime: 1h 36m

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