Die Erscheinung

Investigative journalism commissioned by the Vatican in order to determine whether or not a teenager has seen the appearance of the Virgin, as she claims With films like Xavier Beauvois' "Men and Gods" (2010) and Anne Fontaine's "The Innocent" (2015), French cinema has re-approached religious questions. The Apparition embraces the difficult exercises of (i) filming the imperceptible and the faith & (ii) addressing the exciting questions of belief, religion and existential options & ways. It relies on a virtually fascinating subject - clairvoyance regarding the Virgin Mary - by dealing with the subject of faith through a canonical inquiry, an angle which until now has never been treated in the cinema, which is altogether unknown by the general public, and which is herein approached with sufficient accuracy and twists to interest any spectator. In the role of the photographer on the case of an alleged appearance, Vincent Lindon is convincing as a Cartesian agnostic who questions the truth and doubts during a down-to-earth approach that contrasts with the mystical dimension of the subject. The film finds its interest in an exciting first part where we get acquainted with the young clairvoyant, Anna played by Galatea Bellugi. Too bad then, that it ends up lost in several anecdotal tracks and several different stories where the situations, not really fully resolved, confer to the story a frustrating, and a bit too austere edge, which prevents it from reaching the level of the Beauvois essay. Regretfully Giannoli fails to give a sustained breath to this very much alive and attractive story.

I don't know what to say other than the ending was hanging in the grey ... bland, uninteresting, and disappointing.

I just saw a surprisingly interesting movie called The Apparition. No, not a horror flick, but rather a spiritual detective story, about a secularish journalist who is recruited onto a Vatican commission to investigate a sighting of the Virgin Mary in a French Village.

I hesitate to recommend it because it is 2 1/2 hours long, although it never seemed to drag. The lead is played by Vincent Lindon, one of those deep-voiced French actors who seem to purr their lines rather than speak them.

One of the realities that the movie explores is how uncomfortable the Catholic Church is with these kinds of sightings, which are subjected to intense scrutiny. Very few of them receive the Church's endorsement. Most are eventually rejected as unauthentic. Part of the Church's problem is its orthodoxy. The Church is like a sheepdog, driven by instinct to perpetually circle its flock, keeping them in a tight bunch. Every question of faith must be either dogma or heresy, believed by everybody or by nobody -- lest they forfeit the high ground of orthodoxy. Superimposed on this is the Church's need to protect its role as intermediary between man and God. If direct experience of the divine is commonplace, the Church and its sacraments are unnecessary. And if visionaries are adored and invested with exceptional spiritual powers, they wind up in direct competition with the hierarchy. The Church is (rightly) fearful of the potential mischief of cults.

Critics have charged the movie with lack of focus, and the director with lack of discipline, and the ending with lack of resolution. They have missed the point. One of the main themes is that different people pursue different sorts of truth. The Vatican wants spiritual truth. The journalist just wants to know exactly what happened (or didn't happen) and is not much concerned one way or the other with its spiritual significance. His is not a conflict of faith; his conflict is that his instinct as a journalist tells him that the girl he is investigating is sincere, but the facts don't add up. In this context, the ending is perfect. But the movie is a rich tapestry, with a lot else going on. It treats every character (save one, an American evangelist) with respect, and allows each his or her own truth. Its theme requires a broad focus, and a wandering camera. And 2 1/2 hours.

The Apparition is considerably better than its scores on IMDB and MetaCritic would suggest. Comments posted by some viewers reflect their unhappiness about the film's length and about it's failure to put forward rigid conclusions. Maybe they've been watching too much simplistic TV.

This story demands that each viewer must make his or her own decision about what to believe. This is not a religious film, although it can be viewed that way. It is about the human belief mechanism and how it is influenced by what we want to believe and what we choose to doubt. There are scenes in this film that leave the viewer wondering what he or she should conclude, which is exactly what the characters in the film are experiencing.

At its core, this is the story of two people. We meet first an adult male journalist, somewhat cynical, who has just lost a close friend. He is troubled by what he regards as his failure to protect his friend. He agrees to help the Vatican investigate claims of a miracle. The other primary character is an attractive teen-aged girl who says she witnessed an appearance of the Virgin Mary. The girl was an orphan who grew up in foster homes and orphanages and has pledged herself to a life as a nun. Those two characters form an unexpected bond as the story progresses. We are left with a question: what qualities of human behavior are "saintly"? This is a thoughtful work, no easy answers, just like life.

I had a few very important reasons for wanting to see "The Apparition". I´m a Christian, I believe in and pray to God daily, I usually like movies with a religious theme and yes, I enjoyed this movies trailer.

The movie follows Jacques Mayano, a journalist who recently has lost a friend on a mission in the Middle East. The Vatican contacts him. They want to send him to a village where Anna, a teenager, claims that she has seen an apparition of the Virgin Mary.

I didn´t think that this movie was too long. I would have liked one or two flashbacks and a bit more clarity. But all in all I think that this movie is great and interesting. But don´t expect some kind of modern Joan of Arc. In my opinion the character Anna isn´t like her.