Kreuzweg

First of all, I'm English and don't speak German. I had to rely on the subtitles. And the film is very dialogue heavy. However, in my opinion this is a very interesting and thought provoking film concerning strong catholic beliefs and the strains of teenage angst. Probably not everyone's cup of tea but I enjoyed it and it kept me thinking afterwards.

This exceptional movie graphically illustrates what religious indoctrination does to the mind and thinking of a child and is about as far removed from the Biblical manifestation of the LOVE of God as it's possible to get. Based on Catholic theology, the story follows a teenage girl's idealistic pursuit to get to heaven by achieving religious purity through self denial and repression. Her devout mother rules her family with an iron fist never passing up an opportunity to denigrate and poison her daughter with barbs of criticism and verbal flagellation. Her father is depicted as weak and hen-pecked into a state of total submission. Inevitably this results in a predictable breakdown for the vulnerable young girl and is heart-breaking to watch. Yet, this is a compelling, almost necessary, story that is extremely well written and superbly acted by all the players. This is well worth watching whatever faith or background you come from.

I went to movies yesterday at Cinehoyts La Reina and Kreuzweg was being played for SANFIC (Santiago Festival International de Cine) in Chile, so i bought a couple of tickets and watched it with a friend of mine.

I had never read or heard anything about this movie before, so i didn't have any good or bad expectation before getting into the cinema.

The movie shows us religious fanaticism as it's most absurd. It really reminded me part of my childhood, when i went until the age of 10 to a protestant school in Santiago de Chile, where teachers said that Iron Maiden was the most satanic rock band in the world or things like that, i remember they said once that even Elton John was a satanic artist xD. Well this film shows us some very similar situations, and maybe for someone who has never experienced it, might believe that this only happens in movies, but, i lived it and i know it, there is lots of this religious fanatics in many schools and families.

The movie is split in 14 chapters, and they tell us about Maria a teenage girl who is about to get her catholic confirmation. The church she is part of, is a church which refuses to be like modern churches, and it considers a sin everything related to modern music, television, social networks, parties, etc, etc... At the beginning of the movie, the priest advised Maria and other students that if they want to get the goodness from God they have to make some sacrifices. Maria got convinced that she had to make a sacrifice in order to get a miracle from god, but she took the advise a little bit too far.

One of the things that really got my attention from this movie, was that the camera isn't moving at all (it just moves a few times and it's almost not noticeable for the viewers).

I'd suggest you to watch it, but don't expect a very good movie, i rated it with 7 stars out of 10, i mean i liked it, but i'm not sure if i would watch it again soon.

'Stations of the Cross' tells the story of the life and death of a young, and very religious, girl, by analogy to the 14 eponymous icons of Jesus's death that are typically displayed in a Catholic chuch; the point is further made by framing the story as 14 scenes, each filmed with a static camera. At first, the movie seems boring, in part because of the lack of camera movement; but as we get to know the characters, it becomes an increasingly intense, and occasionally moving, experience. What is less clear is the exact purpose here: a denounciation of an austere Catholic sect, and a mother figure devoid of the capacity for love, are clear, but the idea that evil can lurk behind claims to be good is scarcely revolutionary, and the absence of any trace of humanity in the film's most monstrous figures is a weakness. In places it reminded me of 'Breaking the Waves', but without any of that film's playfulness.

Not many films get rated 10 by me, this one did. Because on top of being a perfectly told story: acting, cinematography, plot and anything else I would wish to find in a film. It's also speaking cinema. The film speaks with camera movements - yes there are almost no camera movements and when they do come they're hardly noticeable, but when they do arrive they speak volumes. They tell us the story and how the director feels about it. With finesse and mastery of his media rarely found in modern cinema. I don't want to overlook the superb acting, mainly the two leads - Lea Van Acken with a gut wrenching performance as the innocent and deeply religious Maria. And Franziska Weisz as her horrible fanatic mother who remains nameless. All the others do their share without a single false note. Such masterpieces are the reason I go to cinema festivals, finding two within two days made this year's Jerusalem Film Festival a success as far as I'm concerned. Look this one out and watch it, I couldn't recommend it highly enough.