Lourdes

The Observer“A gem of a film...” This quiet, witty, observant film encompasses hope, faith, death and doubt, and it involves us in the progress of a possible miracle and in its aftermath when the party react in different, often unexpected ways to the events they've witnessed...

Guardian“Subtle, mysterious and brilliant...” Viewers may find themselves disconcerted or even exasperated by the film's final moments, but I found in them a final flourish of Hausner's sheer, exhilarating technique and intelligence, like that of a superb musician. It is her best film yet...

The Telegraph“A superbly observed, meticulously constructed drama...” Supporting cast members are equally precise in their ability to transform what could have been just a sardonic comedy into a quietly powerful and moving exploration of men and women waiting for transformations of their own...

The Independent“All you can be certain of is Lourdes' slippery, unsettling brilliance...” The closing shot – extended, enigmatic and carrying a charge of bitter irony – is quietly devastating. Jessica Hausner's tour de force of ambivalence, intelligence and invention will make you believe in cinematic miracles, at least...

The Times“Outstanding...” The underlying current of sardonic humour and the perfectly pitched ambivalent ending elevate an already impressive piece of work into a fully realised cinematic tour de force...

Little White Lies“A cucumber-cool satire...” While this may sound like a chilly and coolly intellectual reduction of what many people cherish as a life-affirming creed, that’s because it damn well is...

Total Film “Not without its moments of sly humour...” Hausner subtly sketches in the characters involved – the pilgrims, the carers, the bemused but conscientious resident priest – and the tensions and jealousies that thrive in Lourdes’ hothouse atmosphere...

Empire“Examining the physical and psychological nature of the miraculous...” Jessica Hausner refuses to betray whether she’s being inspirational or ironic in this astute amalgam of the devotional and the droll. As much a subversive black comedy as a reverential treatise on spirituality...

Variety“Shafts of black humor regularly break though the pic's cool surface...” Either a subtly subversive black comedy, a deeply spiritual portrait of physical rebirth or a whole lot of nothing in a self-consciously arty package.The real miracle of Lourdes is how Hausner and her small key cast maintain interest...

Time Out film“Brilliant and satisfyingly illusive...” The subdued and slyly comic register of the performances and the gorgeous, deadpan shooting style are the only tools Hausner gives us to decipher her tale, leaving you to decide whether modern religion is a sham or a saver of souls...