NEW YORK — In the documentary “Lourdes” (Distrib Films), filmmakers Alban Teurlai and Thierry Demaiziere present a moving portrait of one of the world’s most popular pilgrimage sites and of the suffering people who are drawn to it.
Their accomplished work is currently showing at New York City’s Film Forum.
Far too wrenching for youngsters, the movie also contains thematic material and some dialogue that make it appropriate for adult viewers only.
One of the first travelers to the sacred venue to whom the audience is introduced, for example, is a sexually confused transvestite prostitute trying to break free of his degraded lifestyle.
Other pilgrims have more conventional stories. They range from a 40-year-old man who was profoundly disabled when hit by a car in childhood to a patient suffering from ALS, better known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, and the father and brother of a 2-year-old boy in palliative care.
Wisely, Teurlai and Demaiziere adopt a hands-off approach, allowing Lourdes and its devotees to provide the visual and emotional substance, respectively. Voiceovers, by contrast, allow us to eavesdrop on some of the voyagers’ heartfelt prayers. Yet this does not feel intrusive. Instead, their invocations bear powerful witness to the faith by which they are motivated.
As most Catholics will already know, the religious significance of the titular French community, which lies in the foothills of the Pyrenees, began in 1858 when Mary appeared to St. Bernadette Soubirous (1844-1879).
Since then, as the documentarians point out, many miraculous healings have been attributed to the intercession of Our Lady of Lourdes. Of these, 70 have been recognized as supernatural by the church.
As if to balance the transcendental nature of such occurrences – and of the hopes they continue to spark – the narrative also includes some of the earthy realities by which those who serve the ailing sojourners to Lourdes are confronted.
Some may regard these concrete details as unpleasant. But viewers will be unanimous in recognizing that the physical effort devoted to allowing those who cannot fend for themselves to bathe in the shrine’s spring water is nothing short of inspiring. The depiction of this ritual marks the movie’s poignant climax.
While unsuitable for group catechesis, “Lourdes” will touch the hearts and renew the spirits of individual moviegoers. They will also appreciate the respectful tone with which matters of faith are treated in this challenging, but ultimately uplifting, picture.
In French. Subtitles.
— John Mulderig, Catholic News Service
Pictured: This is an image from the documentary “Lourdes,” which is a portrait of one of the world’s most popular pilgrimage sites and of the suffering people who are drawn to it. (CNS | courtesy Distrib Films)
CHARLOTTE — Father Basile Sede, pastor of Our Lady of Consolation Church, has written a third book entitled “Comparing Cultures and Religions in a Postmodern World: Joseph Ki-Zerbo Versus Jaques Maritain.”
In his latest book, Father Sede illustrates how culture and religion are basic to every human society, and the history of a people always sustains its cultural and religious values.
“This book highlights the idea that every history is an embodiment of culture, tradition and religion,” Father Sede explains. “Globalization is bringing lots of challenges to the world today because, though people have different origins with different cultures and religions, they are conditioned by necessity to live together.
“Accordingly, some knowledge of the major world cultures and religions is truly relevant for peaceful co-existence.”
He notes that he decided to use African cultures and religious practices as his departing point “for the mere fact that Africa is generally considered as the cradle of civilization, and it is a very historic and controversial continent.”
“However, while examining some prominent world cultures and religions (in a comparative manner), my major focus is on the Christian-Thomistic culture and religion as illustrated by Jacques Maritain in comparison with the African culture and religion as expressed by Joseph Ki-Zerbo,” he explains.
Ki-Zerbo was a historian, politician and writer from Burkina Faso who is considered one of Africa’s foremost thinkers. Raised Catholic, he briefly trained for the priesthood before dropping out to study history and law at the Sorbonne. A socialist and an advocate of African independence and unity, he died in 2006.
Maritain was a Catholic convert and French philosopher who was one of the leading interpreters of St. Thomas Aquinas in the 20th century. A close friend of St. Paul VI, he also was influential in the development of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. He died in 1973.
"While regretting that the world of today within our own eyes, in the name of development and civilization, is tending toward barbarianism at an accelerated speed, Jacques Maritain encourages the secularization of the human person, but a secularization that is spiced by Christian culture, not along the dictates of the state" Father Sede notes..
Father Sede asserts that both thinkers considered that amid ongoing multiculturalism and globalization, authentic humanism or personalism – based on the sacredness of the human person – should be endorsed as a new civilization or culture.
“Only such a culture can make the future of humankind essentially meaningful and interesting,” he says.
— SueAnn Howell, Senior reporter
The book is available online at www.amazon.com.