Amazon.com The German Benedictine nun Saint Hildegard von Bingen, whose visions in history have sometimes been dismissed as delusions or migraines, is in this biopic portrayed as the revolutionary healer and artist that she was, in efforts to further amend her contemporary public image. In Vision, director Margarethe von Trotta traces with some historical accuracy Bingen's astonishing life as not only a nun who was commanded to record her visions by God, but a medicine woman, an independent spirit, an intellectual, and a skilled artist and musician. This gorgeous depiction of her life, in addition to Barbara Sukowa's imaginative and respectful invention of Hildegard's character, offers the viewer a palpably realistic version of what the 11th century might have been like. While the first scenes in the film are set in the Cloister Disibodenberg, where as a preteen Hildegard was tithed to the church by her parents, the latter half of the film is set in the nunnery Hildegard designed and constructed, Cloister Rupertsberg. One of the great assets of this film is that it does not attempt to depict Hildegard's entire life, but instead focuses on a few main movements. Vision chronicles her childhood's ecclesiastical training, the passing of her spiritual mother Jutta (Lena Stolze) and Hildegard's election to Magistra thereafter, then Bingen's spiritual and intellectual growth through approximately age 60. Because one sees how young girls were separate from society in sanctuary, one can easily begin to understand how lucid Hildegard is regarding her visions that her provost Brother Volmar (Heino Ferch) eventually transcribes. Her visions in this film are tastefully handled, and the bulk of the narrative concerns instead Hildegard's studies, her ingenious, modern interest in both science and religion, and the ways in which she navigated a patriarchal church system on behalf of the nuns under her care. For example, the young, regal Richardis von Stade (Hannah Herzprung) is vowed in and for many years devotes herself to Hildegard, but not without jealousy from Hildegard's other close ally, Sister Jutta von Sponheim (Mareile Blendl). Small personal dramas unfold within the larger framework, making this a very complex and engaging film. --Trinie Dalton Product Description Lushly shot in original medieval cloisters of the fairytale like German countryside, Vision is the profoundly inspirational portrait of Hildegard von Bingen, a woman who has emerged from the shadows of history as a forward thinking and iconoclastic pioneer of faith, change and enlightenment. A visionary in every sense of the word, this famed 12th century Benedictine nun was a Christian mystic, composer, philosopher, playwright, poet, naturalist, scientist, physician, herbalist and ecological activist. Reuniting with recurrent star Barbara Sukowa, New German Cinema auteur Margarethe von Trotta brings the story of this extraordinary figure to cinematic life. In a staggering performance, Sukowa portrays Hildegard's fierce determination to expand the responsibilities of nuns within the order, even as she fends off outrage from some in the Church over the visions she claims to receive from God. She was truly a woman ahead of her time.
ASIN: B004KCAYXC
VSKU: LFV.B004KCAYXC.A
Condition: Acceptable
Author/Artist:Alexander Held|Barbara Sukowa|Gerald Alexander Held|Hannah Herzsprung|Heino Ferch|Lena Stolze|Joachim Kr?l|Mareile Blendl|Salome Kammer|Annemarie Düringer|Christoph Luser|Devid Striesow|Paula Kalenberg|Sunnyi Melles|Margarethe von Trotta|Markus Zimmer
Binding: Dvd
Note: Any images shown are stock photographs and product may differ from what is shown.
Condition Notes: DVD Acceptable - Discs are in good condition. This may be an ex-library item. Purchases help support libraries they originate from.