By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 5 cats
Director: Margarethe von Trotta
Starring: Alexander Held | Barbara Sukowa | Hannah Herzsprung | Heino Ferch | Sunnyi Melles
Original language title: Vision – Aus dem Leben der Hildegard von Bingen
Country: france, germany
Year: 2010
Running time: 110
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0995850/
Bruce says: “What a résumé! Margarethe von Trotta is in her fourth decade of making films although she began writing for film in the 60’s when she was in her early twenties. In the seventies she was one of the regulars in Fassbinder’s acting stable. She also was married to Volker Schlöndorff (with whom she directed her first film, THE LOST HONOR OF KATHARINA BLUM, in 1975) for twenty years. VISION is her 20th directorial effort. Long fascinated by the remarkable life of Hildegard von Bingen, a nun from the 12th century, von Trotta had been working on the script for VISION for a number of years before she could get the film financed.
“Hildegard von Bingen is a fascinating character. She was a musician, a poet, a scientist, and a practitioner of herbal medicine among many other things. What gave her currency in a man’s world were her visions – her communication with God which she eloquently communicated. She also possessed superb tactical ability in dealing with her male superiors in the Catholic Church. Hildegard did have the von Stades on her side. They were a wealthy family who championed Hildegard after she agreed to accept daughter Richardis into the convent. To add to her luck, Richardis’ brother became an imposing figure in the German ecclesiastic hierarchy.
“von Trotta deserves credit for making such an obscure part of history intensely interesting and at times, riveting. When told that there is no chance of the nuns leaving the monastery (tradition was for nuns and monks to reside under the same roof), Hildegard convinces the Church that it is in the best interest of all concerned to establish a separate convent. To make religious life more interesting, Hildegard creates liturgical dramas for the nuns to perform (with the attending priest taking on the roles of evil, that which is unsuitable for a nun to perform.) From the time of the ancient Greeks until Hildegard’s time, drama was almost a lost art. Hildegard on more than one occasion is given her last rites only to rally and forge ahead with new goals in sight. Hildegard also has her flaws as we learn later.
“VISION is a once-in-a-lifetime role for Barbara Sukowa. Her career, like von Trotta’s, is eclectic and impressive (BERLIN ALEXANDERPLATZ, LOLA, MARIANNE AND JULIANE, ROSA LUXEMBOURG, M. BUTTERFLY, JOHNNY MNEMONIC, OFFICE KILLER, HOMO FABER). Sukowa claims it is difficult to portray a woman of the 12th century with a thousand years of collective knowledge in her head. Playing a nun is challenging, for one cannot rely on costumes, hairstyling and make-up to create the character. Sukowa’s facial expressions and verbal subtleties bring Hildegard to life nine centuries later and give us new appreciation for an historical figure who has had tremendous impact on Western civilization. Kudos for the designers and cinematographer who made the folds of white flannel in each of the nun’s habits different and gorgeous. 5 cats
(VISION screened at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival.)”