Review No.112: Hadewijch

As you can see at the moment I'm focusing on rather obscure cinema releases and the reason for that is that I'm trying to make a dent in my LoveFilm list so I'm currently watching films that I know very little about the latest of these is the obscure French film Hadewijch. The film centres around a young theology student who wishes to become a nun but after extreme demonstrations of her blind faith, including too much fasting and standing in the rain without an umbrella, she is asked by the sisters to return to her everyday life. Known as Hadewijch in the convent she reverts back to Celine as she re-joins her upper class family who live in a swish Parisian pad and where she spends most of her time caring for their dog or keeping up with her prayers. After drinking alone in a bar she meets attractive Arabian teen Yassine whom she is attracted to but cannot sleep with as she is saving herself to give solely to Jesus. Through meeting Yassine's brother Nassir her faith is tested as he tries to teach her some of his radical Muslim beliefs and he is also able to answer some of her questions about why she doesn't feel as close to Jesus as she could. The film's crescendo is Nassir's attempts to persuade Celine to partake in a suicide bombing in the Paris Metro, and also I felt to a lesser extent to sleep with his brother, so again it is up to her to see if her faith justifies her doing this. Alongside all this is the story of a young convict who was working on the convent and saw Celine in her Hadewijch days so again it is up to us to decide how he fits in with her story.

Hadewijch, as well as being a really film name to repeatedly type, is one of those arthouse flicks where characters take a long time reflecting on things by staring into lakes. For me the film reminded me most of The Nun's Story as both focus on young women who join convents for maybe the wrong reasons but struggle with their faith. However while Audrey Hepburn gave a big performance here lead actress Julie Sokolowski gives a subtle turn here which makes the film feel realistic but at the same time I also didn't feel any emotional connection with the character. Like with the previous film I reviewed, Blackthorn, this one is also to an extent a group of scene strung together by one character however here at least there are strong themes dealt with that I could identify with - the struggle with faith, resisting natural urges and deciding right from wrong. The film really kicked up a notch after Celine meets Nassir and from then on I felt hooked with the big scenes on the metro and their aftermath making this film a lot more gripping than it should've been. Director Bruno Dumont definitely takes on an interesting journey throughout the film even if it at times the detours are a little meaningless everything is still visually captivating. What makes this film worth watching though is Sokolowski who is brilliant throughout although sometimes what she's given to do isn't very interesting.

Verdict: A beautifully-shot film with a great lead performance is let down by too many inconsequential scenes which are there to give it a very 'arthouse feel' and for that reason I can only give it 6/10