Sylvie Testud stars in this beautifully observed tragicomedy about a pilgrimage to Lourdes that takes in satire, seriousness and laugh-out-loud moments. It's a remarkable high-wire balancing act, says Michael Brooke
Deservedly one of the big critical hits of 2010, Lourdes - Jessica Hausner's exquisitely nuanced comedy of manners- takes on the perilously high-wire task of offering a sardonic commentary on the tourist-trap excesses of the famous French miracle-town of Lourdes in the Pyrenees, while at the same time maintaining a completely open mind as to the efficacy and indeed existence of the medically inexplicable cures that are said to happen there.
A group of visitors, or 'pilgrims', many in wheelchairs (including Sylvie Testud's near-paralysed MS sufferer Christine), arrive at the start, and are immediately herded into a series of numbingly repetitive routines by volunteers from the Order of Malta. Their stern-faced leader Cécile (Hal Hartley's former muse Elina Löwensohn) keeps a beady eye on things, chiding her charges (pilgrim and volunteer alike) for making inappropriate jokes, over-enthusiastically jumping queues, pursuing romantic liaisons or doing anything else that might undermine the sanctity of the place - never mind that her purist stance is constantly undermined by the vast proliferation of shops selling tacky Virgin Mary effigies (ranging from life- to Oscar-sized) or the fact that the local priests seem altogether more worldly and sceptical than their calling might suggest. Naturally, any tension between visitors, volunteers and Lourdes authorities is always expressed in the politest of ways, presumably lest God observe, disapprove and withhold a planned miracle as punishment. But when a cure does eventually manifest itself, does its recipient 'deserve' it when, for instance, a younger pilgrim might have more of a future? And what would be the appropriate reaction to something that even the Lourdes authorities admit is unprecedented? These and other moral, medical and spiritual dilemmas are explored through a series of low-key encounters that recall the similarly droll work of Aki Kaurismäki, with some terrific sight gags casually set up in the background or right at the edge of an immaculately-composed frame. Not least amongst Hausner's considerable roster of achievements is the fact that believers, agnostics and atheists might well end up convinced that they've watched a completely different film - but they should all be equally impressed.
The multiple award winning story of a pilgrimage to Lourdes, the Christian pilgrimage site in the French Pyrenees, where pilgrims journey in hope of finding spiritual comfort or bodily cure.
Sylvie Testud (La Vie en Rose) takes the central role of Christine, a multiple sclerosis sufferer and religious sceptic, who travels more for companionship than in hope of a miracle. But as the trip develops, her lack of faith is tested with the hope of a new life, whilst, around her the affectations and jealousies of the assorted entourage of religious officials and fellow sufferers are being exposed.
