{ "id": "eprg8h8fn8", "slug": "lourdes-2009-film", "title": "Lourdes (2009 film)", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.drama-biographical", "label": "Drama and biographical films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.drama-biographical" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.drama-biographical.drama-films-2000s", "label": "Drama films 2000s", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.drama-biographical.drama-films-2000s" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.drama-biographical.drama-films-2000s.biographical-and-historical-drama-films", "label": "Biographical and historical drama films 2000s", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.drama-biographical.drama-films-2000s.biographical-and-historical-drama-films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.drama-biographical.drama-films-2000s.biographical-and-historical-drama-films.yr-2006-2009", "label": "Released 2006 to 2009", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.drama-biographical.drama-films-2000s.biographical-and-historical-drama-films.yr-2006-2009" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.drama-biographical.drama-films-2000s", "label": "Western Europe · 2001 to 2020: Drama films 2000s", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.drama-biographical.drama-films-2000s", "path": [ { "id": "geo.weu", "label": "Western Europe", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2001", "label": "Western Europe · 2001 to 2020", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2001.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001.culture" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.drama-biographical", "label": "Drama and biographical films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.drama-biographical" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.drama-biographical.drama-films-2000s", "label": "Drama films 2000s", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.drama-biographical.drama-films-2000s" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Lourdes is Jessica Hausner's 2009 Austrian-French-German drama starring Sylvie Testud as Christine, a wheelchair-using multiple sclerosis patient healed on a pilgrimage to Lourdes; it won the FIPRESCI Prize at Venice 2009.", "snippet": "Lourdes is Jessica Hausner's 2009 Austrian-French-German drama starring Sylvie Testud as Christine, a wheelchair-using multiple sclerosis patient healed on a pilgrimage to Lourdes; it won the FIPRESCI Prize at Venice 2009.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.drama-biographical.drama-films-2000s.biographical-and-historical-drama-films.yr-2006-2009", "markdown": "# Lourdes (2009 film)\n\n**Lourdes** is a 2009 drama film directed by the Austrian filmmaker Jessica Hausner, an Austria, France, and Germany co-production about a wheelchair-using woman on a pilgrimage to the French shrine town of Lourdes who is unexpectedly healed. It premiered in competition at the [Venice Film Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/venice-film-festival) in September 2009, where it won the FIPRESCI Prize, and it went on to collect awards at festivals in Warsaw and Seville.[1](https://www.tcm.com/articles/020831/lourdes) • [2](https://filminstitut.at/filme/lourdes)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Director and writer | Jessica Hausner, her third feature film[3](https://iffr.com/en/iffr/2010/films/lourdes) |\n| Production | Austria, France, Germany, 2009; produced by coop99 Filmproduktion with Essential Filmproduktion, Thermidor Filmproduktion, and Société Parisienne de Production[4](https://www.diagonale.at/en/filmarchiv/?fgenre=0&fid=3782&fscope=films&fsearch=suchen&ftitle=lourdes&fyear=0) |\n| Premise | Christine, almost completely paralyzed by multiple sclerosis, joins a church pilgrimage to Lourdes as a non-believer and suddenly walks again[4](https://www.diagonale.at/en/filmarchiv/?fgenre=0&fid=3782&fscope=films&fsearch=suchen&ftitle=lourdes&fyear=0) |\n| Principal cast | Sylvie Testud (Christine), Léa Seydoux, Gilette Barbier, Gerhard Liebmann, Bruno Todeschini, Elina Löwensohn[4](https://www.diagonale.at/en/filmarchiv/?fgenre=0&fid=3782&fscope=films&fsearch=suchen&ftitle=lourdes&fyear=0) |\n| Format and language | 35 mm, color, French-language dialogue; running time reported as 96, 98, 99, or 100 minutes depending on the source[3](https://iffr.com/en/iffr/2010/films/lourdes) • [5](https://www.bfi.org.uk/film/401b2ff9-60c5-5181-ae8d-daf6648fd4ee/lourdes) |\n| Key crew | Cinematography Martin Gschlacht, editing Karina Ressler, production design Katharina Wöppermann, costumes Tanja Hausner[4](https://www.diagonale.at/en/filmarchiv/?fgenre=0&fid=3782&fscope=films&fsearch=suchen&ftitle=lourdes&fyear=0) |\n| Major awards | FIPRESCI Prize and Brian Award at Venice 2009; Warsaw Grand Prix; Gold Giraldillo for Best Film at Seville[1](https://www.tcm.com/articles/020831/lourdes) • [2](https://filminstitut.at/filme/lourdes) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Plot and subject\n\nChristine, played by Sylvie Testud, suffers from multiple sclerosis that has left her almost completely paralyzed and dependent on a wheelchair. Although she does not believe in miracles, she joins a pilgrimage organized by a lay religious order to the shrine at Lourdes, both in search of a cure and to escape her isolation; piety buys her the trip and the social contact she craves.[4](https://www.diagonale.at/en/filmarchiv/?fgenre=0&fid=3782&fscope=films&fsearch=suchen&ftitle=lourdes&fyear=0) • [6](https://www.biff.kr/eng/html/archive/arc_history_view.asp?kind=history&m_idx=14171&page=3&pyear=2009&sec=226) She is cared for by the young volunteer Maria ([Léa Seydoux](https://www.edgepedia.org/lea-seydoux)) and, increasingly, by the older and lonelier Frau Hartl (Gilette Barbier), who prays fervently for her.[7](https://f-films.deutsches-filminstitut.de/cms/film/lourdes-atdef-20082009-regie-drehbuch/)\n\nDuring the stay, Christine's condition improves so dramatically that she can walk again. The film leaves open whether this is a genuine miracle, a temporary remission, or something in between, and it ends with doubts about how long the healing will last.[4](https://www.diagonale.at/en/filmarchiv/?fgenre=0&fid=3782&fscope=films&fsearch=suchen&ftitle=lourdes&fyear=0) • [7](https://f-films.deutsches-filminstitut.de/cms/film/lourdes-atdef-20082009-regie-drehbuch/) The healing also changes the social dynamics around her: other, more pious pilgrims question their own purpose, and envy and gossip arise in the wake of what looks like a miracle.[6](https://www.biff.kr/eng/html/archive/arc_history_view.asp?kind=history&m_idx=14171&page=3&pyear=2009&sec=226) • [8](https://cinema-austriaco.org/en/2020/04/02/lourdes-2/)\n\n## Approach and production\n\n**A detached observer.** Hausner, who describes herself as a probable atheist who sometimes weakens into agnosticism, made the film as a record of the pilgrimage world rather than an argument for or against faith. She has said she wanted neither to give Catholic answers to the problems of faith nor to mock the devotion of sick pilgrims.[9](https://www.research.lancs.ac.uk/portal/services/downloadRegister/251631930/2018WanguiEnglish.PDF.pdf) Reviewers noted the resulting tone: the International Film Festival Rotterdam program described a film that never turns into real satire or melodrama but remains a subtle study of hope, faith, and the whims of life.[3](https://iffr.com/en/iffr/2010/films/lourdes)\n\nHausner chose Lourdes deliberately as the setting for a film about miracles, after research into where such a story should take place. Gaining access to the sanctuary took time: she visited several times during location scouting, and after about a year of discussions with the sanctuary authorities, including conversations with Monseigneur Perrier, Bishop of Tarbes and Lourdes, filming permission was granted. She found that the Catholic dignitaries themselves were conscious of the ambivalence of miracles, doubting whether a cure is true and lasting or a coincidence before a relapse.[10](https://coproductionoffice.eu/assets/films/lourdes/presskit/HAULOU-Pressbook.pdf) • [11](https://cineuropa.org/en/interview/133642/)\n\nThe film was shot on 35 mm in Vienna and Lourdes between April and June 2008, with funding from the Austrian Film Institute, Filmfonds Wien, Eurimages, Medienboard Berlin-[Brandenburg](https://www.edgepedia.org/brandenburg), Filmstiftung Nordrhein Westfalen, and the Midi-Pyrénées regional fund, among others. It was Hausner's first feature made in French, a choice she made to look at the milieu with a distanced, outsider's gaze.[2](https://filminstitut.at/filme/lourdes) • [10](https://coproductionoffice.eu/assets/films/lourdes/presskit/HAULOU-Pressbook.pdf)\n\n## Release and reception\n\nLourdes premiered at the Venice Film Festival in September 2009, selected in competition. It won four prizes in Venice, among them the FIPRESCI Prize, the La Navicella Venice Cinema Award from a Catholic jury, and the Brian Award from an atheist group, a pairing that mirrors the film's deliberate ambiguity.[1](https://www.tcm.com/articles/020831/lourdes) • [2](https://filminstitut.at/filme/lourdes) • [3](https://iffr.com/en/iffr/2010/films/lourdes) Later honors included the Warsaw Grand Prix, the Gold Giraldillo for Best Film at Seville, the 2010 promotion prize of the DEFA Foundation at [Saarbrücken](https://www.edgepedia.org/saarbrucken), and the Thomas-Pluch screenplay prize.[2](https://filminstitut.at/filme/lourdes)\n\nThe film opened in Austrian cinemas on 11 December 2009, distributed by Stadtkino Filmverleih, and in Germany on 1 April 2010.[2](https://filminstitut.at/filme/lourdes) • [12](https://www.fbw-filmbewertung.com/film/lourdes) Critics responded warmly. In The Guardian, Peter Bradshaw called the drama subtle, mysterious, and brilliant, rating it four out of five, and his colleague Philip French described it as a gem made by a former assistant to [Michael Haneke](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-haneke).[13](https://www.theguardian.com/film/movie/132519/lourdes) The German Film and Media Rating board (FBW) praised its precisely staged view of pilgrimage tourism and its elaborate color design.[12](https://www.fbw-filmbewertung.com/film/lourdes) Writing in Medical Humanities, the disability researcher Tom Shakespeare found the film subtle and ambiguous, noting that the protagonist remains passive for almost the entire story while the camera records the pilgrims, the services, and the queueing at the shrine.[14](https://mh.bmj.com/content/medhum/early/2010/11/15/jmh.2010.006346.full.pdf)\n\n## The director\n\nJessica Hausner was born in Vienna in 1972 and studied directing at the Film Academy of Vienna, where she made the award-winning shorts Flora (1996) and [Interview](https://www.edgepedia.org/interview) (1999). Her debut feature [Lovely Rita](https://www.edgepedia.org/lovely-rita) premiered in Un Certain Regard at Cannes in 2001, followed by Hotel there in 2004. Lourdes was her third feature; she later made Amour Fou (2014), Little Joe (2019), and Club Zero (2023).[15](https://filmmovement.com/userFiles/uploads/films/lourdes/Lourdes_presskit.pdf)\n\n## References\n\n1. [Lourdes, TCM article by Raquel Stecher (2020)](https://www.tcm.com/articles/020831/lourdes)\n2. [Lourdes, Österreichisches Filminstitut film page](https://filminstitut.at/filme/lourdes)\n3. [Lourdes, International Film Festival Rotterdam 2010 program](https://iffr.com/en/iffr/2010/films/lourdes)\n4. [Lourdes, Diagonale Festival of Austrian Film archive](https://www.diagonale.at/en/filmarchiv/?fgenre=0&fid=3782&fscope=films&fsearch=suchen&ftitle=lourdes&fyear=0)\n5. [Lourdes (2009), British Film Institute](https://www.bfi.org.uk/film/401b2ff9-60c5-5181-ae8d-daf6648fd4ee/lourdes)\n6. [Lourdes program note, Busan International Film Festival archive (2009)](https://www.biff.kr/eng/html/archive/arc_history_view.asp?kind=history&m_idx=14171&page=3&pyear=2009&sec=226)\n7. [Lourdes, AT/DE/F, 2008/2009, f_films / Deutsches Filminstitut](https://f-films.deutsches-filminstitut.de/cms/film/lourdes-atdef-20082009-regie-drehbuch/)\n8. [Lourdes (2009) by Jessica Hausner, Cinema Austriaco review (2020)](https://cinema-austriaco.org/en/2020/04/02/lourdes-2/)\n9. [Visual Theologies, Lancaster University research repository (2018)](https://www.research.lancs.ac.uk/portal/services/downloadRegister/251631930/2018WanguiEnglish.PDF.pdf)\n10. [Lourdes pressbook, Coproduction Office](https://coproductionoffice.eu/assets/films/lourdes/presskit/HAULOU-Pressbook.pdf)\n11. [Interview with Jessica Hausner, Cineuropa](https://cineuropa.org/en/interview/133642/)\n12. [Lourdes, Deutsche Filmbewertung und Medienbewertung (FBW)](https://www.fbw-filmbewertung.com/film/lourdes)\n13. [Lourdes, The Guardian film page with reviews by Philip French and Peter Bradshaw](https://www.theguardian.com/film/movie/132519/lourdes)\n14. [Magical mystery tour, Medical Humanities film review by Tom Shakespeare (2010)](https://mh.bmj.com/content/medhum/early/2010/11/15/jmh.2010.006346.full.pdf)\n15. [Jessica Hausner biography, Lourdes press kit, Film Movement](https://filmmovement.com/userFiles/uploads/films/lourdes/Lourdes_presskit.pdf)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Drama and biographical films (individual works) › Drama films 2000s › Biographical and historical drama films 2000s › Released 2006 to 2009*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/lourdes-2009-film", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/lourdes-2009-film.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Lourdes (2009 film)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/lourdes-2009-film. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Lourdes (2009 film)](https://www.edgepedia.org/lourdes-2009-film)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/lourdes-2009-film](https://www.edgepedia.org/lourdes-2009-film). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Lourdes (2009 film)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/lourdes-2009-film. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Lourdes is Jessica Hausner's 2009 Austrian-French-German drama starring Sylvie Testud as Christine, a wheelchair-using multiple sclerosis patient healed on a pilgrimage to Lourdes; it won the FIPRESCI Prize at Venice 2009." }