The Song of Bernadette
Release date: 1943-12-21
Votes: 119
Genres: Drama
In 1858 Lourdes, France, Bernadette, an adolescent peasant girl, has a vision of "a beautiful lady" in the city dump. She never claims it to be anything other than this, but the townspeople all assume it to be the Virgin Mary. The pompous government officials think she is nuts, and do their best to suppress the girl and her followers, and the church wants nothing to do with the whole matter. But as Bernadette attracts wider and wider attention, the phenomenon overtakes everyone in the the town, and transforms their lives.
Reviews
CinemaSerf
Jennifer Jones turns in an engaging performance as the eponymous girl, living in mid-19th Century France, who claims to have received divine communications in a grotto near her local village of Lourdes. Unsurprisingly, she faces a fairly sceptical clergy and state but her fellow villagers lap it all up. That enthusiasm soon spreads and soon - like it or not - she is a phenomenon that has drawn the attention of the Empress Eugenie herself. Her problems only worsen when she is finally accepted, and validated by her church and she takes up residence in a nunnery where she is respected and resented in pretty much equal measure. Cynics may cast aspersions on the reasons behind the casting of Jones in this film, but nobody could argue that her performance is anything other than perfect. She has an innocence that lends well to the plausibility of her charming, unassuming persona and of her pretty turbulent - and short - life too. Charles Bickford also delivers well as her initially suspicious parish priest as do local magistrate "Dutour" (Vincent Price) and doctor "Dozous" (Lee J. Cobb). The writing is maybe not the most significant element of the story, indeed it is a bit vapid at times, but the story quite successfully captivates even now, 80 years later.
Movie Recommendation
David1997-03-23A distinguished military leader whose reign was touched by great scandal, shocking betrayals and rousing victories. A simple shepherd boy chosen to be king, under the watchful eyes of prophet Samuel.More...
The Black Cat1941-05-02Greedy heirs wait in a mansion for a rich cat lover to die, only to learn her cats come first.More...
The Unholy Three1930-07-12A trio of former sideshow performers double as the "Unholy Three" in a scam to nab some shiny rocks.More...
Sur le plancher des vaches1940-02-28A little bank employee wins a plane in the lottery and amazes his companions with his audacity.More...
Jewish Delis: Something to Kvell About!2023-08-26A celebration of a great Jewish-American tradition. Beginning as places for Jews from Central and Eastern Europe to eat and meet, they expanded across America and eventually attracted as many non-Jews as Jews. Today, the number of Jewish Delis has shrunk dramatically and many of the survivors have adapted to changing times, sometimes in ways their forebears might not recognize.More...
Gaslight1944-05-04A newlywed fears she's going mad when strange things start happening at the family mansion.More...
Shadow of a Doubt1943-01-15Just when Charlie is feeling especially frustrated by the lack of excitement in her small town in California, she receives wonderful news: Her uncle and namesake, Charlie, is coming to visit. However, as secrets about him come to the fore, her admiration turns into suspicion.More...
Cool Hand Luke1967-11-01When petty criminal Luke Jackson is sentenced to two years in a Florida prison farm, he doesn't play by the rules of either the sadistic warden or the yard's resident heavy, Dragline, who ends up admiring the new guy's unbreakable will. Luke's bravado, even in the face of repeated stints in the prison's dreaded solitary confinement cell, "the box," make him a rebel hero to his fellow convicts and a thorn in the side of the prison officers.More...
All About Eve1950-11-09From the moment she glimpses her idol at the stage door, Eve Harrington is determined to take the reins of power away from the great actress Margo Channing. Eve maneuvers her way into Margo's Broadway role, becomes a sensation and even causes turmoil in the lives of Margo's director boyfriend, her playwright and his wife. Only the cynical drama critic sees through Eve, admiring her audacity and perfect pattern of deceit.More...
Christmas with the Kranks2004-11-24When their only daughter Blair leaves the family nest, Luther and Nora Krank decide to book an island cruise to beat the yuletide blues and just skip the holidays. But their decision to boycott tradition has the whole neighborhood in an uproar, and when Blair calls on Christmas Eve to announce a surprise visit with her new fiancée, the Kranks have just twelve hours to perform a miracle and pull themselves and their neighbors together to throw the best celebration ever!More...
The Place2017-11-04The fates of an apparently random group of strangers who each come into contact with a mysterious figure who they believe possesses the power to grant any wish, in return for which they must carry out a task he assigns them.More...
Casablanca1943-01-15In Casablanca, Morocco in December 1941, a cynical American expatriate meets a former lover, with unforeseen complications.More...
It Follows2015-02-04When carefree teenager Jay sleeps with her older boyfriend for the first time, she learns that she is the latest recipient of a fatal curse that is passed from victim to victim via sexual intercourse. Death, Jay learns, will creep inexorably toward her as either a friend or a stranger. Jay's friends don't believe her seemingly paranoid ravings, until they too begin to see the phantom assassins and band together to help her defend herself.More...
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa2008-10-30Alex, Marty, and other zoo animals find a way to escape from Madagascar when the penguins reassemble a wrecked airplane. The precariously repaired craft stays airborne just long enough to make it to the African continent. There the New Yorkers encounter members of their own species for the first time. Africa proves to be a wild place, but Alex and company wonder if it is better than their Central Park home.More...
Shrek2001-05-18It ain't easy bein' green -- especially if you're a likable (albeit smelly) ogre named Shrek. On a mission to retrieve a gorgeous princess from the clutches of a fire-breathing dragon, Shrek teams up with an unlikely compatriot -- a wisecracking donkey.More...
The Blind Side2009-11-20The story of Michael Oher, a homeless and traumatized boy who became an All American football player and first round NFL draft pick with the help of a caring woman and her family.More...
Gran Torino2008-12-12Disgruntled Korean War veteran Walt Kowalski sets out to reform his neighbor, Thao Lor, a Hmong teenager who tried to steal Kowalski's prized possession: a 1972 Gran Torino.More...
F92021-05-19Dominic Toretto and his crew battle the most skilled assassin and high-performance driver they've ever encountered: his forsaken brother.More...
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest1975-11-19A petty criminal fakes insanity to serve his sentence in a mental ward rather than prison. He soon finds himself as a leader to the other patients—and an enemy to the cruel, domineering nurse who runs the ward.More...
Stalker1979-05-25Near a gray and unnamed city is the Zone, a place guarded by barbed wire and soldiers, and where the normal laws of physics are victim to frequent anomalies. A stalker guides two men into the Zone, specifically to an area in which deep-seated desires are granted.More...
Similar Movies
Cap Nord
2012-04-18A party, musical love stories: head North, on a Northern Soul rhythm.Peter Hujar's Day
2025-07-18A recently discovered conversation between photographer Peter Hujar and his friend Linda Rosenkrantz in 1974 reveals a glimpse into New York City’s downtown art scene and the personal struggles and epiphanies that define an artist’s life.Metropolis
1927-02-06In a futuristic city sharply divided between the rich and the poor, the son of the city's mastermind meets a prophet who predicts the coming of a savior to mediate their differences.Apocalypse Now
1979-05-19At the height of the Vietnam war, Captain Benjamin Willard is sent on a dangerous mission that, officially, "does not exist, nor will it ever exist." His goal is to locate - and eliminate - a mysterious Green Beret Colonel named Walter Kurtz, who has been leading his personal army on illegal guerrilla missions into enemy territory.Walk the Line
2005-09-13A chronicle of country music legend Johnny Cash's life, from his early days on an Arkansas cotton farm to his rise to fame with Sun Records in Memphis, where he recorded alongside Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins.Blade Runner
1982-06-25In the smog-choked dystopian Los Angeles of 2019, blade runner Rick Deckard is called out of retirement to terminate a quartet of replicants who have escaped to Earth seeking their creator for a way to extend their short life spans.Hero
2002-07-22During China's Warring States period, a district prefect arrives at the palace of Qin Shi Huang, claiming to have killed the three assassins who had made an attempt on the king's life three years ago.The Elementary Partic...
2006-02-10Based on Michel Houellebecq's controversial novel, Atomised (aka The Elementary Particles) focuses on Michael and Bruno, two very different half-brothers and their disturbed sexuality. After a chaotic childhood with a hippie mother only caring for her affairs, Michael, a molecular biologist, is more interested in genes than women, while Bruno is obsessed with his sexual desires, but mostly finds his satisfaction with prostitutes. But Bruno's life changes when he gets to know the experienced Christiane. In the meantime, Michael meets Annabelle, the love of his youth, again.Anatomy of a Murder
1959-07-01Semi-retired Michigan lawyer Paul Biegler takes the case of Army Lt. Manion, who murdered a local innkeeper after his wife claimed that he raped her. Over the course of an extensive trial, Biegler parries with District Attorney Lodwick and out-of-town prosecutor Claude Dancer to set his client free, but his case rests on the victim's mysterious business partner, who's hiding a dark secret.Dance First
2023-11-03Parisian bon vivant, World War II Resistance fighter, Nobel Prize-winning playwright, philandering husband and recluse…Samuel Beckett lived a life of many parts. Titled after Beckett’s famous ethos “Dance first, think later”, the film is a sweeping account of the life of this 20th-century icon.The Art of Loving: St...
2017-01-27Michalina Wislocka, the most famous and recognized sexologist of communist Poland, fights for the right to publish her book, which will change the sex life of Polish people forever.Colette
2013-09-12As World War II rages on, Villi and Colette are captured and sent to Auschwitz concentration camp. Imprisoned within separate compounds, the lovers must risk their lives to be together again.Yoshiko & Yuriko
2011-09-07Based on a true story, Yoshiko and Yuriko relates the journey and great love affair of Yoshiko, who was a renowned translator of Russian literature and drama, and Yuriko, who was a feminist novelist and great activist of the post-war democratic literature movement. Both have left huge marks on Japanese literary history. The two women shared a strong attraction to each other from their first meeting and enjoyed a powerful love affair. Yoshiko reveals that she's an out lesbian, whilst Yuriko is married (not altogether happily) to a well-known scholar - a situation she can't walk away from with ease.The Prisoner of Zenda...
1996-09-01When young computer genius Rudy inherits his father's business his avaricious uncle has him kidnapped and held hostage until the boy signs off all rights to the lucrative enterprise. Not wanting the uncle to control, a pair of corporate executives happen upon a youth who looks just like the missing heir. In hopes of keeping the business afloat, they substitute him at the board meetings.Champions
2014-01-23Five real-life stories of Olympic athletes of Russia. Five stories which intertwined love, betrayal, friendship. Each of these victories worth hard work, respect and belief in yourself, in your family and to your country.Jerome's Secret
1994-09-23In 1863, when a legless, shipwrecked man washes up on the Acadian coast, he's taken to the home of Jean the Corsican, a burly and bitter former soldier, and his childless young wife, Julitte. The man, who is young, handsome, and well-dressed, remains mute as Julitte nurses him back to health. Jean, meanwhile, who is inexplicably estranged from Julitte and an outsider to townspeople, continues his hunt for pirate treasure, rumored to be hidden in a cave by the sea. The treasure is his ticket out of Acadia. As loneliness and Eros draw Julitte and the mysterious Jérôme together, something's got to give.Between the White Key...
2023-10-06In an audacious reworking of the biopic, this ensemble drama sees jazz pianist Minami Hiroshi’s memoir cleverly reinterpreted into a surreal and playful story about chasing dreams, disillusionment and the inner lives of professional artists. Closer to playing two sides of the same coin than tackling a dual role, Ikematsu Sosuke embodies two versions of Minami – the naïve upstart and the jaded pro – who magically cross paths as they become entangled with a cast of colourful characters in the seedy alleyways and jazz clubs of Ginza over a single night.María Magdalena, peca...
1946-10-10The story of Mary Magdalene from being a sinner to follow Jesus Christ.Patsy & Loretta
2019-10-19A story of the close friendship of country music stars Patsy Cline and Loretta Lynn.Squandered Sunday
1990-04-01A day in the life of Arnošt, a soldier staying in Josefov. A sense of desperation permeates the environment as well as the mind of the protagonist. It is sunday, and saturday left just a hangover. Days go by, nothing changes. A metaphor for the political situation in the Czech lands at a time where depicting a soldier as a drunk was considered out of place to say the least.