France, Austria, Germany

Synopsis

Christine has been confined to a wheelchair for most of her life. In order to escape her isolation, she makes a journey to Lourdes, the iconic site of pilgrimage in the Pyrenees mountains. She wakes up one morning seemingly cured by a miracle. The leader of the pilgrimage group, a handsome 40-year-old volunteer from the Order of Malta, begins to take an interest in her. She tries to hold on to this newfound chance for happiness, while her cure provokes envy and admiration.

Director's Statement

Lourdes is a (cruel) fairy-tale, a day-dream or a nightmare. Ill people of the entire world go to Lourdes hoping to get their health back, hoping for a miracle, because Lourdes is a place where the existence of miracles is still asserted, a place synonymous of hope, comfort and recovery for the desperate and the dying. But the ways of God are unfathomable, and the hope that on the verge of death, everything may turn out alright is one that seems absurd when life is drawing to an end. Lourdes is the stage on which this human comedy plays out.
 | 

Cast & Crew

Directed by: Jessica Hausner

Written by: Jessica Hausner

Produced by: Martin Gschlacht, Philippe Bober, Susanne Marian

Cinematography: Martin Gschlacht

Editing: Karina Ressler

Production Design: Katharina Wöppermann

Cast: Elina Löwensohn, Sylvie Testud, Bruno Todeschini, Léa Seydoux, Gerhard Liebmann

Nominations and Awards

  • European Actress 2010
  • Feature Film Selection 2010