Lourdes: A Story of Faith, Science and Miracles

Most are familiar with the story of Bernadette, the peasant girl, who experienced the apparitions of the Virgin Mary at Lourdes and the miracles that followed. But this film goes beyond that. There are 3 stories that are intertwined about their experiences at Lourdes. This is a very good film. It has great character development, dialogue, and pace switching back and forth between the three stories where the main focus is Bernadette and her encounters with the apparitions of the Virgin Mary. This DVD also came with a 16 page collector's book with color pictures and information about the film and Lourdes. The only drawback is that this is an Italian movie with English subtitles. Sometimes the translations on the screen move too quickly where the viewer may miss part of the dialogue between the characters. But overall I enjoyed this story of faith. Everything cannot be explained by science and reason. Life is still a mystery. Not everyone is a believer but sometimes the circumstances we face in our lives may give us cause for contemplation and to re-think our beliefs; which in the end is a good thing.

Well written journal and well filmed.

Was a gift for my bother

This was a Christmas gift. It's a tad long but I love the story behind it.

Great story...good service received on time...thank you I have no other words to sayThere should not be a miniumn words to type

This movie is a combination between old and modern time. Something to recommend to view with whole family! Really beautiful!

Excellent

This movie is a fictitious account surrounding Saint Bernadette Soubirous and the apparitions of Our Lady of Lourdes. The gist of this feature film is the continuing struggle that man faces between science and rationale versus faith and the miraculous. It is a good depiction of the attitudes of many in modern society to disapprove anything and everything that has to do with faith or religion, believing that there should be a 'logical' explanation for everything, even though there can be none. This film challenges the individual to look beyond what we can sensually perceive and to honestly look for the truth.The movie begins in our day. A photographer, Bernard Guillaumet returns from an assignment from Lourdes to his beautiful wife. He receives a huge ancient diary which belonged to his great-grandfather, a Dr. Henri Guillaumet.Bernard's wife, at this time, almost suffers a miscarriage, (the former has been kept in the dark about her pregnancy) and while at hospital, he finds he has to return to Lourdes to complete his assignment. It seems that the pictures that he had earlier taken there, are unusable (all he has is a blank negative) which he vehemently refuses to at first,because, as he puts it, he just hates the place! However he does so. He then begins to devour the contents of the diary.The diary is a precious heirloom as it describes the meeting of the Dr.Henri with a peasant girl Bernadette, who claims to have these remarkable visions.The Dr. himself prides himself as a rationalist/atheist, where there is no room for the miraculous and there is nothing that science can't explain. There is a twist when the Dr.'s fiancee is diagnosed with terminal tuberculosis and has to be taken to a sanatorium in the south of France. When she hears of the miraculous healing water of Lourdes, she begs her fiance to fetch her some. With great reluctance, and after many attempts to dissuade her, he acquiesces and gets her the water. She is healed, which, though it should make her future husband ecstatic, instead sends him into a spiritual turmoil and a depression,a downward spiral of sorts, for, in this instance, when something has struck so near and dear to him, even shaking the very core of his existence and beliefs, there is no explanation nor comfort that science can give him.Thus continues the saga of the two Guillamet men, separated in time, but united in their quest for truth and reason, under very different and yet very similar circumstances.The movie goes into series of flashbacks and flash-forwards, to the past and present.The title of this review is from the film itself.My problem with this movie is the portrayal of St. Bernadette. We see nothing of her native wit and simplicity. She is portrayed like a plaster saint and appears to be rather timid, when in fact she was rather forthright in her manner, and furthermore, at one point, in the movie, there seems to be some arrogance displayed by the charachter of Bernadette, which is quite shocking! There is also another very evident departure from the life of St. Bernadette where they show her working in a hospital, and not as a cloistered nun.But again, please be reminded that this is a FICTITIOUS RETELLING of the events of St. Bernadette and Lourdes.This film is 190 minutes long in ITALIAN WITH ENGLISH AND SPANISH SUBTITLES.Please also be fore-warned that this picture is NOT fast-paced. It requires some patience.There are no special features on this DVD.It comes with a 16 page booklet which includes the following:About the film, St. Benadette and Our Lady of Lourdes,The Miracles of Lourdes,Popes and Lourdes; Selected Quotations, Discussion Questions.There are beautiful color pictures of scenes from the movie included in the booklet.Also please take note of the absolutely wonderful theme song entitled 'Chanson de Bernadette'(Song of Bernadette) a beautiful and haunting piece. I only wish I knew what the lyrics mean.For those who want a more accurate retelling of St. Bernadette's life I recommend the two following movies both starring Sydney Penny.: Bernadette (Special 150th Anniversary Edition) The Passion of Bernadette The first film is the official film broadcast daily at the sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes in Lourdes, France.And for the best book on St. Bernadette, I recommend this one : Bernadette Speaks: A Life of St. Bernadette Soubirous in Her Own Words

brilliant