Paradise: Faith/Paradies: Glaube (2012) - Strong Catholic faith through Seidl's lens

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A woman in front of a crucifix exposes her butt on this curious poster for Ulrich Seidl's Paradise: Faith

Marianne is a deeply religious Catholic cancer ward nurse, and in her off time she walks outside with her sculpture of the Virgin Mary. When her invalid Muslim husband returns home, sparks between the two erupt.

 

Paradise: Faith is written by Veronika Franz (Safari (2016)) and great Austrian filmmaker, co-writer/director Ulrich Seidl (Models (1999)). It is the 2nd film in the pair's Paradise trilogy, which also consists of Paradise: Love (2012) and Paradise: Hope (2013). The title is a literal translation of the original German title.

It is presents a peculiar and original as well as a completely straight-lined and understandable narrative with impressively authentic performances, made in Seidl's signature docu-style. Especially Maria Hofstätter (Orkester (2021)) in the unembarrassed lead as Marianne, a fascinating and inspiring character, because she lifts her faith so actively, going out to confront her fellow (sad, miserable) Austrian countrymen with it. Her conflict with her husband has depth and nuances: Are we here witnesses to a rare artistic reflection of the cultural clash between Muslims and the West? Is Marianne's mission hopeless, pointless? Or meaningful and reputable? 

Paradise: Faith lets the questions stand open until the last scene, SPOILER in which Seidl's own assessment of Catholicism as a judgmental, restrictive kind of sadomasochism seems to take over, - which at best does not fully cover it, and at worst is an unfair rejection.

 

Related post:

 

Ulrich Seidl: Paradise: Love/Paradies: Liebe (2012) - Woman's love safari fertile ground for Seidl drama

 

 

Seidl talks about the film in a video here

 

Cost: Unknown

Box office: 618k $

= Uncertain but likely a mega-flop (projected return of 0.34 times its cost)

[Paradise: Faith premiered 30 August (Venice Film Festival) and runs 113 minutes. Shooting took place from September - November 2011 in Vienna, Austria. The film opened #95 to a 2k $ first weekend in North America, where it never ranked higher and grossed 6k $ (1 % of the total gross). Its biggest markets were Austria with 295k $ (47.7 %), Germany with 226k $ (36.6 %) and Spain with 48k $ (7.8 %). If made on a realistic 1.8 mil. $ budget, the film would rank as a mega-flop. The film won a European Film award, among other honors. Seidl returned with Paradise: Hope (2013). Hofstätter returned in Braunschlag (2012, TV-series) and theatrically in Paradise: Hope. Paradise: Faith is fresh at 73 % with a 6.40/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

 

What do you think of Paradise: Faith? 

Of Gods and Men/Des Hommes et des Dieux (2010) - Creeds at odds in powerful and deeply moving true-story drama

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Two monks embrace under an overwhelming, bright sky on this effective poster for Xavier Beauvois' Of Gods and Men

The French Catholic monks in a monastery in Algeria are threatened by Islamic fundamentalists, when the civil war that broke out in 1991 comes to their area in 1996, but what does one do in such a situation?

 

Of Gods and Men is written by co-writer/co-producer Etienne Comar (Haute Cuisine (2012)) and French master filmmaker, co-writer/director Xavier Beauvois (Nord (1991)), whose 6th feature it is. It is based on a real life chapter of the Algerian Civil War, which ended in 2002. The original French title translates to 'of men and of gods' and refers to a line in the Bible's Book of Psalms.

It is an eminent and sober portrayal of a true tragedy from our recent past. The film bares with clarity and anguish the way that Islam demands blood sacrifice again and again.

The film is acted with sensitive empathy and humanism from a set of excellent French actors, whose characters do not stand unified or without doubts as to their worrying predicament, giving the strong film a wealth of nuances. Of Gods and Men is, in short, masterly.

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 4 mil. €, approximately 3.89 mil. $

Box office: 43.8 mil. $

= Mega-hit (returned 11.25 times its cost)

[Of Gods and Men premiered 18 May (Cannes Film Festival, main competition) and runs 122 minutes. Beauvois stayed 6 days at the Tamié abbey in Savoie as research, consulted a theologian and sent the screenplay to the families of the monks, getting positive response from most. The actors trained chanting for a month and were also sent for a week to the Tamié for preparation. 10 companies and support bodies collaborated in the financing and production of the film. Shooting took place from December 2009 - February 2010 in Morocco. The film opened #26 to a 308k $ first weekend in 33 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #22 and in 120 theaters (different weeks), grossing 3.9 mil. $ (8.9 % of the total gross). The film was a massive hit in France, where it was #1 for 4 consecutive weeks and grossed 27.2 mil. $ (62.1 %). North America was the film's 2nd biggest market and Germany the 3rd biggest with 2.1 mil. $ (4.8 %). The film was nominated for a BAFTA, won 3 prizes at Cannes, including the Grand Prix, 3/11 César awards, was nominated for a David di Donatello award and 2 European Film awards and won a National Board of Review award, among other honors. Roger Ebert gave the film a 3/4 star review, translating to 2 notches under this one. Beauvois returned with The Price of Fame/La Rançon de la Gloire (2014). Lambert Wilson (The Belly of An Architect (1987)) returned in a music video prior to his theatrical return in À l'Aveugle (2012); Michael Lonsdale (The Suspects/Les Suspects (1974)) in Hitler à Hollywood (2010). Of Gods and Men is certified fresh at 92 % with a 8.30/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Of Gods and Men?

Henry Poole Is Here (2008) or, Faith in Sunny California

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A cluttered poster for Mark Pellington's Henry Poole Is Here that establishes that the film is set in California

Poole buys a house in Los Angeles, where he intends to drink, be lonely and die in peace from his unnamed fatal illness. But his neighbor sees Jesus on the side of his house; the other neighbor is highly interested in Poole himself; and miracles start to occur.

 

Henry Poole Is Here is written by Albert Torres (The Fugitive (2020, TV-series)) and directed by Mark Pellington (Going All the Way (1997)).

Radha Mitchell (Bird People (2014)) is too good for this film. Luke Wilson (The Skeleton Twins (2014)) as Poole pulls faces and doesn't entirely seem to believe the script, which is also quite hard-pumped with missionizing cliches. Adriana Barraza (Dark Blood (2021)) is, however, wonderful as the faithful Catholic next door.

The film has plenty of music that it doesn't seem to live up to. Henry Poole Is Here also suffers from an inordinate amount of focus shifts as well as unrealistic endings. It has its heart in the right place but is very far from convincing.

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: Unknown
Box office: 1.9 mil. $

= Uncertain - but likely a mega-flop (projected 0.38 time cost return)

[Henry Poole Is Here premiered 21 January (Sundance Film Festival) and runs 99 minutes. Shooting took place in California, including in Los Angeles. It opened #16 to an 805k $ first weekend in 527 theaters in North America, where it receded from then on, grossing 1.8 mil. $ (94.7 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Spain with 29k $ (1.5 %) and UAE with 16k $ (0.8 %). If made on a scant 5 mil. $ budget, the film would rank as a mega-flop with a 0.38 time cost return. Roger Ebert gave the film a 3.5/4 star review, translating to 3 notches over this one. Pellington returned with a TV movie and 2 music videos prior to his theatrical return with I Melt with You (2011). Wilson returned in Tenure (2008); Mitchell in The Children of Huang Shi (2008). Henry Poole Is Here is rotten at rotten at 40 % with a 5.20/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Henry Poole Is Here?

Machine Gun Preacher (2011) - Butler finds faith and a Sudanese purpose in Forster's incredible true story

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+ Best Religious Movie of the Year

Gerard Butler stands up to injustice on this poster for Marc Forster's Machine Gun Preacher

Sam Childers is a no-good drug addict until one serious misdeed gets him to turn his life around, find Jesus and a purpose in his life: To start an orphanage in war-torn Sudan.

Machine Gun Preacher is a true story, written by Jason Keller (Mirror Mirror: The Untold Adventures of Snow White (2012)) and directed by Marc Forster (Stranger than Fiction (2006)). It is straight forward, at times corny and not for those who don't love America, Jesus and/or freedom. And if it wasn't based on a true story, few would undoubtedly believe it.
But the film also surprises with a serious and angry portrayal of the despairing situation in Sudan. Childers' growing desperation and provocation at the excesses of America are acutely rendered. Machine Gun Preacher is, actually, an edgy and incredible story, moving and inspiring all in one, which dares to bring up some of the nauseating inequalities and material wastefulness in the world that's so often taboo at the movies.
Gerard Butler (The Bounty Hunter (2010)) gives a dedicated performance and is backed up by good Michelle Monaghan (Eagle Eye (2008)), Michael Shannon (The Harvest (2013)) and various African actors.
SPOILER The revelatory scene with the boy in the 3rd act is a little thick, but the film as a whole works outstandingly.

Related post:

2011 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III] 

Watch the trailer for the film here

Cost: 30 mil. $
Box office: 3.3 mil. $
= Mega-flop
[Machine Gun Preacher got generally lukewarm reviews and a freezing reception by the public: It made 0.5 mil. $ (15 % of the total gross) in the US. Many were undoubtedly offended by the title, although historically, movie titles and audiences have not shied away from the sensational and bad-tasty. A big shame, since Machine Gun Preacher dares to go to difficult places with its sense intact. The film was shot on location in Africa, - an exhausting shoot that also reportedly claimed two production people's lives, although details about this have not been shared. Forster went on from this and made the successful, comparatively utterly pointless World War Z (2013).]

What do you think of Machine Gun Preacher?

Ida (2013) - Pawlikowski scores big with resounding identity-tale

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+ Best Polish Movie of the Year 

The picture on this poster for Pawel Pawlikowski's Ida shows the identity-shaping haze that the title character finds herself in in the movie

Ida is the 5th feature from great Polish writer/director Pawel Pawlikowski (My Summer of Love (2004)), a Danish-Polish co-production that takes place in Poland somewhere in the 1950's.

Ida is a young girl in a convent soon to take her vows to Jesus Christ and her sisterhood, when her superior tells her that she has to first go and meet her only relative left, her aunt, before she takes the last step. The aunt, a former DA, has shocking stories to tell about Ida's family background.

Ida is a film that has taken a victorious journey through several countries and become a surprise hit. A surprise because it is shot in B/W, in 4:3-format, in Polish, with little music, artsy photography, often hauntingly beautiful, and a 1950's plot about a nun and a dark past. It is somber and gloomy and very Eastern European in all of these respects.
And yet it strikes chords with audiences seemingly everywhere. Because Ida is more than those listed elements; it is also a captivating story of identity, faith, what makes you you, and why you make the choices in life that you do. It's obviously got a story that is fraught with meaningful, thematic material, (because all of this material is contained in its just 80 minutes playtime.) It is inspired by two true stories, which are altered to fit into this joined story.
The praises for the film available are overwhelming, and I don't recommend that you delve into them, because they may leave you expecting something that no film can really deliver. Ida is a carefully shaped little diamond, which comes to vivid life early on in its story and remains there for its concise duration.
Ida lives also on especially two very strong acting performances: Agata Trzebuchowska is debuting in the title lead, and her unafraid, stone-faced strength and curiosity is a firm foundation for the journey of the film. She has announced that, despite her good performance and the film's success, she does not want to be an actress. The other great performance is from Agata Kulesza (Suicide Room (2011)), who is simply brilliant as the semi-alcoholic, distressed aunt Wanda.
Ida is a strong and serious film that you will want to see and form your own opinion about.

Related posts:

2013 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED VI]
2013 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED V]
2013 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED IV]
2013 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2013 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]  
2013 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]

Watch the excellent trailer for the film with English subtitles here

Cost: Approximately 2 mil.€, equal to approximately 2.16 mil. $
Box office: 11.1 mil. $
= Big hit
[Ida's impressive American result is not unique, in that it has also gotten fine attendances in European countries: The few reported are Italy (where it earned 0.5 mil. euros) and France (421,000 admissions). The film has yet to open in several countries, including Denmark, which will happen on November 27.]

What do you think of Ida?