Stations of the Cross (2014)

Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.

Many will avoid this film for religious reasons, which would be a shame, because in the end it is not so much about religion (in this case, conservative Catholics in Germany) as childhood, innocence and idealism, and the psychopathology of mental cruelty. Maria is a devout Catholic awaiting confirmation and like many young adolescents, deeply idealistic and principled. This would be fine but she has a cruel, controlling mother (whose motivation is shockingly revealed at the end), and the combination is deadly. It is engrossing and heartbreaking and not completely implausible. One wonders whether the director is being autobiographical but it will be a revelation to many that Catholic orthodoxy of this kind still prevails in parts of rural Germany. The film's other triumph is that it never judges, only observes, so there is nothing to offend a conservative Catholic here. That won't stop anti-Christian elements seeing the film as a denunication of religion, of course.

Religious dramas are pretty uncommon in movies these days. I am guessing this is on account of this being a highly contentious subject which is tricky to bring to the screen, while serious studies of the subject tend to only appeal to a small demographic. Not being religious myself, I was a bit wary when approaching this one and wasn't entirely convinced I was going to like it. So, it was a pleasant surprise for me when I discovered that Stations of the Cross was a very engrossing film indeed. The story follows a teenage girl from a fundamentalist Catholic family who simultaneously tries to meet the strict demands of her faith while dealing with her more human desires. The events occur during the highly intense period when she prepares for Confirmation.Ultimately, this film warns of the destructive potential of organised religion, in particular religious extremism. In this instance the fundamentalists believe in old school Catholicism which disregards any forms of modernism. They espouse a view that popular music and social media are satanic and personal sacrifice is to be encouraged. The film opens with a scene where a priest teaches young teens that sometimes death is better than moral failure. When I watched this opening scene, it did educate me in matters pertaining to religious practise and belief, yet it also reminded me how absolutely none of it makes the slightest bit of sense to me. It is detailed and ingrained yet highly absurd and illogical to me.The movie itself is divided into fourteen chapters, which seemingly tell of the various 'Stations of the Cross' that detailed Christ's path to crucifixion. These scenes are dealt with cinematically in a manner which is simultaneously extremely minimalistic yet very bold. They take the form of fourteen long single takes, with all but three featuring static camera shots from one angle. It is a very austere method, yet the form accentuates the content and never feels for its own sake at any point. The intensity of the drama is enhanced by these extended takes and the serious tone of the material amplified. By the very nature of this approach, this calls for strong acting and excellent acting is what we certainly get here. Lea van Acken puts in a beautiful performance as the highly sympathetic tragic central character of Maria; it is a very mature turn from a teenage girl and highly effecting. Franziska Weisz is the other significant presence as her fundamentalist mother; a frighteningly monstrous character whose blind intolerance drains the life and vitality of all that surrounds her.All-in-all, this one definitely qualifies as a very powerful bit of cinema. It challenges yet engages, has interesting things to say and does so using a very bold presentation. Definitely one to take a chance on.

It was surprisingly an amazing movie. Related to the religious thing, but science had a fair amount of display in the narration. You don't have to be religious to watch this film. You know I enjoyed the movie as a subject that portrayed in a conflict manner. In the end, whatever happen or wins are the best conclusion for a cinematic story. The contents are supposed to be the path the human walked through the past 2000 years, not on the interest to raise the issue. The film was clear on the matter, that is how the movie had the upper hand to receive respect everywhere.The story was told in the multiple episodes. The story deals on the basis of the each episode's title that I can clearly say it had something to do with the Christian faith. Because it follows the same order. Since I don't belong to any, it became a study material. From the introduction to the conclusion, it was well maintained pace, that is slow. But in the middle, I was almost drifted away from my concentration. Somehow managed to hold back my position like I always do and finished watching it by liking it very much.You can take the movie and its contents in many angles. It is up to you, but either way the movie succeeds in balancing and revealing the facts. Leaves you make your own verdict, because you know what's right and wrong being a human to believe in religion or in science, which both were the creation of ours. Sometimes these both do not require to understand life, just like the animals which survived alongside us for very long without civilization revolution, religious faith and proper law and order. The point is the one who understands the life and those who don't bother about knowing it, lives better than being confused between the line and seeks the shelter of religious.An easiest camera work for the cinematographer. All he has to do was to place the lens in a right position and that's it, the rest would be monitored on the television screen where the director seated, I believe. Because there is no camera panning except in a couple of places, other than that it was motionless and the characters appears in the front to perform. The cast has to memorise the lines of those scenes that covers up to non-stop 10 minutes."My religion has put a ban on running in circles in a gym."More like a stage play where setting for one frame (view) is always there and keeps changing for each scene with the different backgrounds what the script demands. My initial thought was, it might have been based on the play, but I still don't know the answer to that. Probably not, because it won an award for the script at the Berlin film festival. Yep, I loved the presentation, it was so cool and beautiful.From this what I have learnt was the involvement of minors in the religious ceremony is kind of inhumane. It's okay to teach them, but some rituals and sacrifice are way beyond acceptable. Those innocent minds have no experience of the difficulty of life, they're yet to explore it. Being poor or someone in the family is very ill should not be the reason to force them to take part. It is the great issue in all the religion. I think physically and mentally affecting take part in the religious ceremony must not be allowed for the underage.I had mild doubt over opting it to view in the earlier, but went for it to refresh from my regular kind of cinema and it did not fail to have my full attention, well I managed, did not I? I am happy I tried to have a different cinema, in fact the filmmakers given the distinct one, so I appreciate them. In the todays world, young film fanatics are addicted to either Hollywood/British or Korean films, but there are plenty of hidden gems in front of us that they're neglecting to have a glimpse. I would recommend this for the adults, they need to watch this more than children and young adults.7/10

Stations of the Cross is one of a handful of films from 2014 that feel the deliberate touch of perfect artistic craftsmanship. Whiplash, Birdman, 10.000 Km and A Most Violent Year are probably the only others that come to mind. Here there isn't a hair out of place, a line too many, nor a beat skipped. Thusly, it all depends on how you connect to the material. I'm not religious and I rarely come across evangelists, but religion is always a fascinating topic for cinema as it reaches to the depths of humanity and metaphysical places we can't possibly understand, as Ingmar Bergman frequently explored in his films. Contemporary cinema has become so secular that we don't often see films that focus on religion so Stations of the Cross has a fresh slate when it comes to bringing the ideas and meanings of Catholicism to the 21st Century. The concept of the film centres on Maria's attempts to make sacrifices to appease God. She forgoes basic necessities like food and warmth from her jacket much to her also strictly religious mother's chagrin. It makes you think about the temptations and pleasures we take for granted everyday. What if you had to sacrifice them? Nobody would be in heaven if that was essential. But heaven isn't the goal - the film looks further. Maria is in pursuit of sainthood, and intends to save her baby brother. It brings up fascinating ideas of a guilty admittance of the ego influencing desires for sainthood that I'd never even considered. It brings the themes back down to earth in a deeply human and flawed way. It is a cold film in its approach, but it still has its endearing qualities.The film moves at a satisfying quaint pace and scale for the first hour, but then it takes the perfect fateful trail to its bitter end and it's equally devastating and thought-provoking. Is this religious fanaticism what God wants? It's an extreme example, but the film doesn't hold back on ideals. Lea van Acken is extraordinary, giving a vulnerable and mature performance far beyond her years as the 14 year old Maria. It's easy to marvel at her endurance for those long takes. But it's Franziska Weisz as her mother who constantly bites back that gives her the perfect board to bounce back from. With its stunning use of mise en scene and rich economy always feeling like it's ripe for cinema rather than the stage, Stations of the Cross is one of the year's essential films.8/10