LOURDES

Jessica Hausner

Austria, Germany, France 99 min Fiction

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.

Themes

European CinemaFemale DirectorReligion

Filmmaker

Jessica Hausner

(Vienna, 1972) She studied directing at the Film Academy of Vienna where she made the award-winning short films, Flora (1996) and Inter-view (1999). In 2001, her debut feature film, Lovely Rita premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in Un Certain Regard. She returned to Un Certain Regard with her second feature, Hotel, in 2004. In 2009, Lourdes was selected in Competition at the Venice Film Festival, where it was awarded the FIPRESCI Prize. Amour fou was Hausner’s third film to be presented in Un Certain Regard, where it premiered in 2014. Little Joe is Jessica Hausner’s fifth feature film and her English-language debut.

Filmography: Little Joe (2019), Amour fou (2014), Lourdes (2009), Toast (curt, 2006), Hotel (2004), Lovely Rita (2001), Inter-view (curt, 1999), Flora (curt, 1995)

Jessica Hausner

Film information

Director: Jessica Hausner
Script: Jessica Hausner
Contact: Coproduction Office
With: Sylvie Testud, Léa Seydoux, Bruno Todeschini
Country: Austria, Germany, France
Year: 2009
Format: Digital
Length: 99 min
Language: French
Subtitles: Spanish
Edition: 2020

Awards

Best Film Editing at the Austrian Film Awards, Best Foreign Film at the Guldbagge Awards, Best Actress at the European Film Awards, Golden Giraldillo in Seville, FIPRESCI Award, SIGNIS Awards, Brian Award and Sergio Trasatti Award in Venice, and Grand Prize at Warsaw

Poster

LOURDES