Institut Francais screened director Jessica Hausner’s 2009 film “Lourdes” at ArtSonje Center’s Cinecode Theater in the chic Samcheong-dong district of Seoul on Tuesday.
The film explores the nature of Catholic miracles ― real or imagined ― for the millions of religious pilgrims who visit the eponymous small southwestern French town nestled against the Pyrenees Mountains.
Hausner remains agnostic in the film on whether miracles actually occur, focusing instead on belief itself and the impact of belief for the protagonist Christine.
Christine suffers severely from multiple sclerosis and is bound to a wheelchair, requiring the assistance of a nurse in even drinking water.
She makes a journey to Lourdes, the iconic site of pilgrimage for Catholic devotees, along with other people with varying disabilities.
She does not appear to have strong faith, for her motivation is to escape her isolation, not to find a cure. But over the course of the film she gains the use of her limbs. Others, who seem to have stronger faith than Christine, see only slight, temporary improvement.
Her fellow pilgrims are quick to define a miracle. Exactly how accurate this is becomes uncertain as the pilgrimage comes to an end.
The Roman Catholic Church has designated Our Lady of Lourdes as an official Marian apparition and believes such apparitions can bestow genuine miracles on individuals.
The film was screened to a smattering of mostly artsy-looking college students. Institut Francais screens a quality French film every Tuesday night at Cinecode.
French film has long had a place in the cinema culture of Seoul, a relationship that dates back at least to 1968, when the French Cultural Institute opened the doors of its theater Salle Renoir across the street from Gyeongbuk Palace. The center moved in 2000 to the Namdaemun area of Seoul, renaming itself Institut Francais.
“France is a country with a strong tradition of cinema. National Cinema is strongly supported by the government,” said Daniel Ollivier, director of Institut Francais and counselor at the French Embassy in Korea.
“Unlike the majority of other countries in which American films dominate, French films command a market share of about 47 percent of the movie-going audience in France,” he said.
