Lourdes

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Although there are subtle hints in the opening scenes as to where writer-director Jessica Hausner stands on the whole organised religion debate, the audience is left in no doubt by the close that she feels it requires the needy and desperate to survive. Hausner finds this disgusting... But is polite and respectful when making her point.

Wheelchair-bound Christine (Testud) makes the pilgrimage to Lourdes in the hope that it will cure her Multiple Sclerosis. Christine is a courteous woman, grateful of the effort displayed by the Order of Malta nurses and carers who tend to her. When Christine begins to exhibit something close to a cure, it's deemed a miracle and she becomes something of a celebrity. Things immediately change: she catches the eye of one handsome worker, Kuno (Todeschini), which in turn makes her carer burn with jealousy. The question remains, however - is this just some sort of remission or is it indeed a miracle?

Lourdes is a quiet, slow-moving film and the style of the direction will divide the camp: some may feel it's flat and unimaginative, others will feel that it's unfussy and allows the message rather than showy directing to shine through. Can't both be true? It really is a no frills approach to filmmaking; Hausner, bar a walk through the hills that boast magnificent scenery, trims back on beautiful settings and sets the action in sparsely decorated rooms. Lourdes, through Hausner's lens, is far removed from one would expect a holy place to look like. The dialogue is rudimentary and the performances severely underplayed.

Hausner's point is made delicately. In one shot, a woman kneels and prays at a statue of Mary, but just over in the corner the eye peeks out a tacky souvenir shop where hundreds of tiny statues with gaudy glowing halos are for sale. In other scenes, Hausner just points the camera at people hugging rocks and allows the audience to make up their own minds - is there something in this religion thing, or are they insane? Lourdes isn't a film that will sway anyone's faith, but it just might raise some questions one hadn't addressed before.