Maiden's Prayer

Elsa 2022-06-18 23:57:12

The film "Fourteen Stations of the Cross" (2012), directed by German director Dietrich Brueghmann, revives a 14-year-old girl, Maria, who lives the same secular life as the girl next door, but is obsessed with religion and decides to Sacrifice your life for this. She adhered to the strict teachings of the sect of Pius XII, which even ordinary Christians cannot match. The path of the crucifixion that Maria wants to repeat is, in the final analysis, an absolute will in her heart, which must determine the direction of her realistic life.

The so-called Fourteen Stations of the Cross is the study journey from Confirmation to the End of Christianity. Maria has only God in her heart, which leads to isolation and incompatible with the secular reality everywhere, and the ending can be imagined. Moderate faith is beneficial to the heart, and it is necessary to handle the relationship with reality well. This is the standard of good faith.

Of course, the harsh family, especially the oppression from her mother, often made Maria breathless, and even the depression of her four-year-old brother Johannes, who had been unable to speak, also took anger on her. It seems that behind every repressed child, there must be an extremely harsh parent. Their unwarranted anger always spills over to their own children. This is dominating the hearts of children in the name of love. But Maria, full of love and remorse, is determined to save little Johannes, a mission that is in fact impossible to accomplish, not even God.

When we saw Maria in the school reading room, next to a teenager named Christian, it was like a light in her life, but it gradually disappeared. The comfort of his girlfriend Bernadette can't be exchanged for her self-confidence after all. The eldest brother's Thomas is funny, like a shadow of Bodhi in the wind. What we see Maria is only lonely and dazed. When she couldn't find a sense of existence, she could only look inward for the power of God, seeking a trace of solace from repentance and prayer.

Obviously, there is a certain risk involved in making such a critical film, not only from the believers, but also from the inner self-examination. I can't help but ask myself: Is my idea necessarily right? There are a thousand roads in the world, and even though there are countless trails, they still lead to the door of inner self-pleasure. No model is necessarily right or wrong. Faith comes from the fullness of one's own heart.

Restrain on the spot. Most of the movies are shot at fixed camera positions, with fourteen stops, standing still, and its stability is reminiscent of Ozu's movies. It looks easy, but it's actually a very lonely journey. The integration of single lines and screen characters is not easy. The film itself leaves us with enough space for thinking, but it is big enough. Alternatively, we might as well ask ourselves whether there is such a belief, and if so, how would it benefit me? Ask yourself gently, like the calmness of the movie itself.

2015、3、11

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