Lourdes

Jessica Hausner’s cool, compassionate exploration of religious faith follows various believers and non-believers hoping for miracle cures in Lourdes

Jessica Hausner’s film centres on a woman who has spent most of her life in a wheelchair and who, despite being a non-believer, travels with a group of Catholics to Lourdes in hope of a miraculous cure. Blessed with access to the French sanctuary and a wonderful performance from Sylvie Testud, Hausner has created a study of faith and despondency that is at once coolly detached and deeply humane