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: Léa Seydoux, Gerhard Liebmann, Elina Löwensohn, Sylvie Testud, Bruno Todeschini
Nominations and Awards
- European Actress 2010
- Feature Film Selection 2010