Lourdes has been the destination of the faithful seeking absolution, comfort, wisdom, and miracles since the late 1800s, when the Virgin Mary appeared to a miller’s daughter. Once again displaying her ability to stand back and observe the humorous, conflicting, and thoroughly unique ticks of human behavior, Jessica Hausner plants her camera on the delicate border between criticism and commendation. Christine is an emotionally, physically, and socially disabled woman that makes the trek to Lourdes with a church group, even though she herself is a non-believer; piety affords her easy travel. It also brings her the social contact she so desperately craves. When Christine seems to be the recipient of a miracle, the dynamics of her life change. [Lourdes] is a nuanced character study of a woman grasping at as many straws as she can hold at once, part of which is her ill-advised pilgrimage. Hausner allows for Christine’s redemption without losing the sharp censure of organized religion, ultimately having her heroine learn that faith in itself?faith in anything?is neither misguided nor meaningless.