A woman searching for a miracle seemingly finds one -- but what comes next? Christine (
Sylvie Testud)
has spent most of her life confined to a wheelchair, unable to use her
arms and legs, and while she has a keen mind and the means to seek
treatment, she looks for a solution to her condition in faith as well as
medical science. Christine has made a pilgrimage to Lourdes, the
village in Southwestern France where a celebrated miracle is said to
have occurred, and she checks into an upscale clinic where a young nurse
named Maria (
Léa Seydoux)
is assigned to look after her. Christine imagines that she and Maria
are becoming fast friends, but the nurse prefers to spend her time with
her co-workers rather than her patients, and she often flirts with Kuno (
Bruno Todeschini), a handsome man who also works at the clinic. Christine finds herself having several conversations with Mme. Hartl (
Gilette Barbier),
who has a powerful belief in the healing powers of the waters of
Lourdes, and after several days of treatment, Christine is amazed to
find that she's regained the full use of her arms and legs. But once
she's experienced the miracle she hoped for, Christine's interest is
less in thanking the Lord and more in pursuing Kuno.
Lourdes was written and directed by
Jessica Hausner, and received its world premiere at the 2009 Venice International Film Festival.
