Bruno Dumont and Eugène Green Films Contrast Mystical Cinema
In a 2010 art press article, Fabrice Hadjadj compares two films exploring mysticism and cinema: Bruno Dumont's 'Hadewijch' and Eugène Green's 'La religieuse portugaise'. Both directors reject conventional spectacle, aiming to reveal hidden dimensions through the visible. Dumont's film follows a young postulant, Céline, whose extreme piety leads her from a convent to radical Islam and a terrorist act, but Hadjadj criticizes its fragmented narrative and dualistic ending. Green's film, set in Lisbon, stars Leonor Baldaque as Julie, an actress drawn to a nightly praying nun, weaving themes of grace, fado, and incarnation. Hadjadj praises Green as Bresson's successor, achieving a unity of flesh and spirit that Dumont fails to attain.
Key facts
- Article by Fabrice Hadjadj in art press n°363, January 2010.
- Compares Bruno Dumont's 'Hadewijch' and Eugène Green's 'La religieuse portugaise'.
- Both films explore the relationship between mysticism and cinema.
- Dumont's film stars Julie Sokolowski as Hadewijch/Céline, a postulant who turns to radical Islam.
- Green's film stars Leonor Baldaque as Julie, an actress in Lisbon.
- Hadjadj criticizes Dumont's film for a rushed ending and dualism.
- Hadjadj praises Green's film as a masterpiece, calling him Bresson's successor.
- Green's film features fado singers Camané and Aldina Duarte.
- Dumont's film includes Yassine Salime and Adrien Michaux.
- Green's film references the 'Lettres portugaises' and King Sebastião.
Entities
Artists
- Fabrice Hadjadj
- Bruno Dumont
- Eugène Green
- Julie Sokolowski
- Yassine Salime
- Leonor Baldaque
- Adrien Michaux
- Camané
- Aldina Duarte
- Manoel de Oliveira
- Alain Cavalier
- Robert Bresson
- Nietzsche
- Plato
- Guilleragues
- Rubens
Institutions
- art press
- Actes Sud
- Dis Voir
- Gallimard
Locations
- Anvers
- Paris
- Île Saint-Louis
- Lisbonne
- Portugal
- France
- Palestine
Sources
- artpress —