Hadewijch (2009)

69% of critics liked it
(29 reviews)
58% of users liked it
(1,030 ratings)

Hadewijch, a novice nun, shocks the mother superior of her convent with her ecstatic blind faith, and is kicked out of the order. Hadewijch becomes Celine again, a young Parisian girl and daughter of a diplomat, and is led down dangerous paths in the real world, balancing between grace and madness… More Hadewijch, a novice nun, shocks the mother superior of her convent with her ecstatic blind faith, and is kicked out of the order. Hadewijch becomes Celine again, a young Parisian girl and daughter of a diplomat, and is led down dangerous paths in the real world, balancing between grace and madness in her rage and passionate love for God. -- (C) IFC

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Rating, Runtime: R, 2 hr.
Directed By: Bruno Dumont
Written By: Bruno Dumont
Genres: Art House & International, Drama

In Theaters: Dec 24, 2010 Limited
Studio: IFC Films

Critic Reviews

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle
Dumont, as if trying to make sure nobody wants to see his movie, named it after a female Flemish poet from the 13th century, but - please read the rest of this sentence - the movie is set in modern times.
V.A. Musetto, New York Post
Should delight Dumont's fans. For others, it will take a bit of getting used to. The effort will prove to be worthwhile.
Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com
It's a beautiful and mysterious work with a rhythm all its own.
Nick Pinkerton, Village Voice
With Hadewijch, [Dumont] endorses something like the Dardenne brothers' rugged, squalid secular humanism, offering the barrier-breaking embrace as vague alternative to Despair, Church, or Capital.
Richard Brody, New Yorker
Dumont suppresses any information that could bring any of his stick-figure characters to life; he seems to be offering lessons about fanaticism, wealth, power, poverty, and politics, but is merely drawing connections by numbers.
Justin Chang, Variety
An austere, deeply questioning examination of a devout young woman having an intense crisis of faith.
Philip French, Observer [UK]
Dumont's elliptical movie is as stiff as an over-starched wimple and rather tedious, but like earlier films of his it has something that sticks in the mind like the hook in a fish's mouth.
Charlotte O'Sullivan, This is London
The script's central paradox - that dogmatic believers are the most adept at switching allegiance - is arresting.
David Jenkins, Little White Lies
Challenging, thought provoking and extraordinarily powerful.
Alex Zane, Sun Online
As the credits rolled I was both bamboozled and disappointed. I suspect you will be too.
Antonia Quirke, Financial Times
The film never takes us in far enough.
Peter Bradshaw, Guardian [UK]
Dumont has an unique ability to create enigmatic, contemporary parables that get under your skin.
David Gritten, Daily Telegraph
Though Dumont sets a painstakingly slow pace, Céline's story feels maddeningly incomplete, and vague both in theological and psychological terms
Matthew Turner, ViewLondon
Hadewijch is a thoughtful piece of raw, austere filmmaking, catering specifically for those interested in serious and adventurous cinema.
David Parkinson, Empire Magazine
A controversial exploration of different faiths. Newcomer Julie Sokolowski shows her mettle.
Tom Dawson, Total Film
The opaque Sokolowski is a real discovery, and this mysterious film builds to its climactic act of salvation...
Geoff Andrew, Time Out
You either go with Dumont's arrogant series of conundrums and paradoxes or - as I do - you see them as mere meaningless 'effects' with little rhyme and no reason.
David Noh, Film Journal International
From would-be nun to fundamentalist accomplice is the unlikely but nonetheless absorbing premise of this stately spiritual study.
Armond White, New York Press
Hadewijch goes from austere images of a wintry world to remarkably beautiful images of post-rainfall lushness. From desolation to revelation, humanism becomes visible in every living thing.

Read all 19 critic reviews

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Eric H

Kicked out of a convent for being too pious (a nun describes her as being a "caricature of religion"), Sokolowski returns to Paris where she is manipulated into carrying out a subway bombing by a group of muslim men. In recent times, French cinema has split into two… More
Kicked out of a convent for being too pious (a nun describes her as being a "caricature of religion"), Sokolowski returns to Paris where she is manipulated into carrying out a subway bombing by a group of muslim men. In recent times, French cinema has split into two distinct camps; lavish, beautifully shot tourist board movies set in the rolling hills of the wine valleys, and gritty pieces which utilise the grim urban landscape of the north. Dumont exists somewhere in between, tackling ugly subject matter yet shooting it in a stunningly colourful fashion. In contrast to this visual professionalism is his casting of non-actors, imagine Ken Loach meets Kubrick. There's a shot in this film that sums Dumont up, set in a tower-block apartment in a rundown Parisian suburb. The view of Paris from this point is one which would be the envy of the middle and upper classes residing in the city below. All this visual splendor can't hide the ugliness of Dumont's intent. By claiming to attack religion he has made the most lavish party political broadcast the French National Front could ever dream of. I'm all for having a go at religion but when you target a minority faith it's just plain bullying. The idea that a bunch of Muslims would go out of their way to corrupt a Catholic girl is just too hard to swallow. Dumont is preying on middle-class Christian paranoia because he knows if the protagonist were a young Islamic girl mainstream audiences wouldn't be interested. It's a French take on how Hollywood treats minorities. Ever notice how any movies about the black struggle are always from the point of view of whites? Almost a half century later and we haven't had a Martin Luther King movie, heaven forbid Hollywood would show blacks actually achieving something on their own. Likewise the only major production about the holocaust is about a Gentile saving Jewish lives. It's ironic that in a film about a young girl being exploited by men, Dumont has his lead perform a ridiculously gratuitous nude scene. Perhaps this is why he casts amateurs? This is a very technically accomplished movie and Sokolowski is a revelation in her debut but the sheer bigotry made it hard for me to appreciate.
Walter M

In "Hadewijch," Celine(Julie Sokolowski) is a devout young woman studying to be a nun at a convent. Her belief is so strong, she refuses to eat or wear weather appropriate clothing in order to become a martyr. While she may be happy, her course of action is freaking out… More
In "Hadewijch," Celine(Julie Sokolowski) is a devout young woman studying to be a nun at a convent. Her belief is so strong, she refuses to eat or wear weather appropriate clothing in order to become a martyr. While she may be happy, her course of action is freaking out her superiors. So, they send her back to her life of privilege in Paris until she gets her head straightened out. While there, she hangs out with Yassine(Yassine Salime) at a concert but refutes his advances because she wants to remain pure. That's no reason why they cannot remain friends as he introduces her to his brother Nassir(Karl Sarafidis) who invites her to his prayer group. I have written before about how Bruno Dumont's films have gotten progressively violent. With his latest, the thought provoking "Hadewijch," he reverses course somewhat by clamping down on the violence while actually having something to say on the subject of violence, as he tries to separate behavior that is reckless from something more purposeful. The film moves in a matter of fact way until its climax where it pulls away so as to leave the matter of Celine's culpability up to debate. Regardless, she is a fanatic at the very least while her specific creed is less important.(In his memoir "I'd Hate Myself in the Morning," Ring Lardner Jr. identified Christianity and Islam as two proselytizing religions.) While she may have chosen her faith, nobody gets to pick their savior.