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Bernadette of Lourdes (1961)

Bernadette of Lourdes (1961)

Drama

The True Story of Saint Bernadette

Release Date: 1961, January 1
Directors: Robert Darène
Countries: France
Production: Cinerez, Cinerez, Edition et Diffusion Cinématographique (E.D.I.C.), Edition et Diffusion Cinématographique (E.D.I.C.), Edition et Diffusion Cinématographique (E.D.I.C.)
Cast: Danièle Ajoret, Nadine Alari, Bernard Lajarrige, Madeleine Sologne, Jean-Jacques Delbo, Renaud Mary, Henri Nassiet

Overview:

This modest, unpretentious French film is a streamlined version of the true story previously cinematized as The Song of Bernadette (1943). Daniele Ajort plays the simple 19th-century French peasant girl who insists that she has experienced a vision of the Virgin Mary. Once this sighting becomes common knowledge, Bernadette's very existence becomes a religious and political hot potato. Thousands of people flock to the grotto at Lourdes where Bernadette claims she has seen the Holy Mother, believing that the waters therein contain recuperative powers. Bernadette dies under a cloud of controversy, but is ultimately elevated to sainthood by the Vatican.