The detrimental effects of religious indoctrination seem to lie at the heart of brilliant, provocative German drama, “Stations of the Cross” (aka ‘Kreuzweg’, 2014). The movie directed by Dietrich Bruggermann (and co-written by his sister Anna Bruggermann) uses the simple context of sectarianism to raise complex questions about intolerance, self-censorship, and altruism. What’s more interesting about the film is that the film-making style itself is rigidly constrained, echoing the tightened beliefs of the religious sect it portrays.
The scene goes on for nearly 15 minutes as the young and
engaging Father goes on talking about sacrifice and the ways to fill one’s
heart with the love of Jesus. Maria’s is a member of a sect called ‘Society of
St Paul’ (fictitious one), which no longer recognizes Rome’s authority (as Father
Weber says:"Because Pope and Vatican turned their backs on 2000 years of
tradition"). In this sect, the host is never handled and the music that contains
loud beats is deemed as a ‘Satanic influence’. The confirmation ritual is the
passage to their adulthood and a stage to draft themselves into the army of
soldiers for God. Maria is seriously worried about her 4 year old brother,
Johannes. The boy refuses to or can’t speak. Maria wants to offer her life as a
sacrifice to God to save her brother.
After that initial talk with the Father, Maria goes to great
length to make sure that every action conforms to the stringent beliefs of her
church. The little desires she possesses are also crushed by her over-bearing
mother, Mutter (Franziska Weisz). Maria’s
father doesn’t talk much and an ineffectual guy in front of his wife. The only
family member who provides Maria some comfort is the Au-pair Bernadette (Lucie Aron). The notions of sin haunt her when a charming boy, Christian, asks her to
sing in their church’s choir. When Maria tells about the boy’s invitation to
her mother, she hollers that the girl is in pursuit of flesh. All the
psychological abuses Maria endures only paves way to make a journey that
replicates the one taken by her God.
Each of the well-composed chapters is filmed with a piercing
clarity by DP Alexander Sass. The muted palette itself echoes the severity of
the subject. The camera mostly remains static, except for three shots. Director
Bruggermann’s each compositions reminisces some distinct religious paintings as
we see characters/character gathering around dinner tables, classroom, and
confessional with a poetic stillness. The acting and these shot compositions
may be precisely choreographed to little details, but everything emerges
naturalistic as if we are observing something tangible. The meticulous fixed
frames reminded me of Haneke’s films (especially “The White Ribbon”).
The themes and the setting would immediately make us recall
the nuanced works of Ingmar Bergman and Carl Dreyer. But, at the same “Stations
of the Cross” more or less, looked like a companion piece of Bruno Dumont’s “Hadewijch”
(2009) and Cristian Mungiu’s “Beyond the Hills” (2012). The angelic conduct of
Maria brought to mind the face of Agata Trzebuchowska in Pawel Pawlikowski’s “Ida”. The girl is often judged and taught that her
look can provoke sins, but it’s banal belief that doesn’t adhere to this
particular religious sect or society. The thought Maria has about Christian is
immediately externalized as very impure and priest, inside the confession
booth, goes on to ask: “Did you look at him in a manner that may have raised
unchaste thoughts in him?” The question is something universal that may be used
to confront a girl, whatever their beliefs are. The psychological abuses Maria
faces isn’t contrived to beset a particular religious or Catholic sect. It
perfectly observes how even the basic maternal love could be consumed, when you
place the ideology or belief above everything else.
Spoilers Ahead
Maria’s dangerously righteous mother and the impassioned
Father Weber blabs about their notions of sin, sacrifice, Jesus etc, but they
never talk about the love or trust that makes us human. In fact, all the
extremist groups avoid the word ‘love’, so that their distrusting belief could
be advertised as a far-reaching brand. The radical practitioners of any faith
see something demonic about how the world operates because its build on pillars
of suspicion. Towards the end, when Mutter is going through a brochure,
selecting a coffin, she rambles about how her daughter performed a miracle
(miracle itself happened because of love), while the throes of death loomed
over her. She is satisfied about the way Maria died ‘in a state of perfect
contrition’ and after completing the communion. Once she sees her husband’s
dejected look, she gradually breaks-down and cries hard. This heart-breaking
scene shows the inherent guilt feeling of the mother. Mutter knows that her daughter
would have survived if she had showed love and trust, but tries to mask that
thought by chucking out words like ‘beatification’.
Although the movie boasts a tag ‘stark religious drama’, the
script written by Dietrich Bruggermann and his sister Anna includes some
subversive and darkly comic moments. Father Weber gives Holy Communion to Maria
as she lies in the hospital bed, and places the sacramental bread on her tongue.
It immediately leads to an appalling situation, where an orderly comes in, takes
out the bread (“We’re not eating solids yet”) and asks the father “Have you
gone mad”. Although what happens next is something sad, the expression on the
Father’s face and orderly provides some wicked fun. The absurd notions regarding
the rock, pop, soul, and jazz music is slightly dialed up for provoke a
chuckle. These little comic moments, however, doesn’t make the director and
writer to stray away from constructing those deep inquiring moments. The viewer’s
thoughts wouldn’t have been kindled, if not for the revelatory and engaging performances,
especially from the debutant Van Acken, who played Maria. It is painful to see
that angelic and despairing face crumbling under the spiritual burden.
The stunningly shot and expertly acted “Stations of the
Cross” (110 minutes) offers a transcendental and thought-provoking movie
experience. It subtly exposes the constraining nature of hard-line religious
doctrines.
Trailer
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