Hadewijch

By Author: mspaul
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New movie release, Hadewijch, is all about the spiritual devotion shown by a young girl and the strangely distorted ideas about faith that come from that devotion. It is cool and reserved, qualities that have made it's director, Bruno Dumont, famous. This upcoming movie is, like L'Humanitie' and Twentynine Palms, a study in emotional excess that is reminiscent of Robert Bresson. Movie picture Hadewijch is the winner of the FIPRESCI Critic's prize at the Toronto Film Festival. According to movie reviews it will undoubtedly be a big hit with art movie aficionados. It's also going to generate some very heated discussions.
Celine is a novice nun in a convent. Even the older nuns are startled by the depth of her religious passion. She refuses to indulge in the simple pleasures of life and even refuses everyday necessities like food. Her biggest indulgence is prayer. Her behavior is so extreme as to be more than obsessive. It's punishing and Celine feels that punishment is the best way to express faith.
This viewpoint is not new. It will be obvious to anyone familiar with the Christianity of medieval times. This new movie ...
... is a reminder of Hadewijch, a well-known figure in Dutch literature who embodies selfless faith in God. Hadewijch wrote often about worldly and divine love, equating one with the other. She explains that both kinds of love are torturous and that both are unattainable.
When the Mother Superior of the nunnery realizes that Celine cannot go on as she is, she sends her home to Paris. Home is nothing like a nunnery. Celine is the daughter of a diplomat and her father lives in luxury - filled with jewels and gilt.
Since Celine's parents are very busy and she has no friends, she becomes lonely. She wants, more than anything, to go back to the nunnery and finds happiness in her rituals. Then she meets Yassine, played by Yassine Salime, whose life is different from hers in every way. His culture is different, his class is different, and his religion is different. He's Arabic and lives in the projects. He understands her need for religion but not the extent of her devotion.
Yassine introduces Celine to his brother Nassir, played by Karl Sarafidis, hoping to ground her a bit. But Celine has found someone like herself. Nassir is already a well-known figure in the Arab religious community and understands religion in a way that helps Celine to expand her own emotional and intellectual limits.
Both Celine and Nassir reason out many of the mysteries of faith that allow religious extremism. They connect on a level way beyond logic. That which is unimaginable to others makes sense to them so they manage to show their love for God on a huge scale. Dumont has made an extraordinary film in Hadewijch. He has gone into the past and across the lines of culture to explore a phenomenon that crosses cultures today.

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