France | 2009 | col | 105 mins | dir. Bruno Dumont, with Julie Sokolowski, Yassine Salime, Karl Sarafidis | cert. tbc | in French with English subtitles
Named after a thirteenth-century mystic, Hadewijch presents the spiritual journey of Céline, a young novice nun who is expelled because of her overzealous faith, and sent back into the world by the mother superior. As she returns to live with her parents in their sumptuous Parisian apartment, Hadewijch once again becomes Céline, the daughter of a French minister. Here she meets Yassine, an Arab boy who introduces her to the lights of Paris, and the cités. Céline’s passionate love of God, her rage, and her encounter with the volatile Yassine and his brother Nassir, a devout Muslim, leads her between grace and madness, further off along dangerous paths.
Prize of the International Critics (FIPRESCI ) at the Toronto Film Festival, 2009
France in the U.K
