Hadewijch (2009)
7/10
There are no innocents in a democracy where people vote.
26 November 2011
Religious experience is not always neat. Unless you are a fundamentalist, you often travel many and diverse roads to find God. Celine (Julie Sokolowski), also known as Hadewijch, is in a convent at the beginning, but is kicked out for not following the rules. She is too intense for the other nuns.

For reference, there really was a poet and mystic in the 13th Century with the name Hadewijch, and there is some similarity to Celine.

After returning to Paris, she befriends Yassine (Yassine Salime), a Muslim terrorist. A Christian fanatic and Muslim fanatics; quite a combination. But, Yassine's brother Nassir (Karl Sarafidis) studies the Quaran, and I found it interesting that he is able to comfort Celine when she has troubles. Nassir seeks God, just as Celine does, but in a different way. He looks at God as a sword to fight injustice.

A former philosophy teacher, Director Bruno Dumont does not lead us to a neat resolution of Celine's problems. His ending is cloaked in ambiguity. Does she move closer to God, or has she given up on salvation. He's not telling, and it is left up to you to decide. Good luck with that.
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