KREUZWEG/ STATIONS OF THE CROSS
Germany, 2014, 107 minutes, Colour.
Lea Van Acken, Franziska Weisz.
Directed by Dietrich Bruggermann.
This is a film of particular Catholic interest.
The title, of course, refers to the traditional devotion to the passion of Jesus, the Way of the Cross, 14 steps of contemplation from Jesus being condemned to death by Pontius Pilate to his burial. (In more recent times, Pope John Paul II added a further contemplation of the resurrection.)
This German film, screened at the 2014 Berlinale, winning the main jury prize for screenplay and the ecumenical award in the main Competition.
The film opens with a priest, young, clerically dressed, teaching five children about the sacrament of Confirmation which they are about to receive. His words are plain and clear. He then says to them that the church has had 2000 years of tradition – and then asserts that along came the Second Vatican Council which ruined everything. He is critical of such things as Communion in the hand, female altar servers, music, a worldly spirituality.
We are being taken into the life of a group which resembles the Society of St Pius X, followers of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, here called the Society of St Paul. What the film has to offer is a portrait, according to the writer-directors, of a traditionalist Catholic Church, often extreme in its attitudes, fostering an austere spirituality, an isolation from the mainstream which it fears and condemns.
At the centre of the film is the young girl, Maria, part of the Confirmation class. She is urged by the priest to greater holiness, her hoping that she could be a saint. But this requires a great deal of asceticism on her part, not protecting herself against the cold, not eating, much praying – with the motivation that her little brother, who has not spoken, will be able to speak because of her mortification. Maria becomes the character who goes on her own stations of the cross. This is emphasised by the priest who points out that the children are now to become warriors of Christ, warriors for Christ, battling themselves and evil in the world. To be fair, he does point out that the children’s battle is also for good in the world.
In this way Maria becomes a Christ-figure, following the pattern of Jesus in his suffering. While there is some talk of heaven, it really does not loom large in the horizons of the Society of St Paul. This is made very clear in a powerful confession sequence, where she talks frankly about herself from the perspective of a young girl, and allows herself to be questioned about all kinds of issues, including sexual temptation.
One of the features of depiction of Christ-figures is the selection of characteristics of the Jesus of the Gospels for understanding the parallel character. The depiction is a challenge to appreciate what criteria are important to the viewer in establishing a Christ-figure, what is included, what is not included.
Maria is an intelligent girl and makes friends with a boy at her school who invites her to sing in the choir at his own church. She is tempted, but his choir includes some rock music and her mother is horrified. In fact, the film’s focus on Maria’s mother shows us a woman who is extremely rigid in her perspectives, fearful of temptations in her daughter’s life, very critical of her when they walk in the mountains, go shopping, buy a dress for her Confirmation, humiliating her at the table after Maria pretends that her friend is a girl and then confesses and admits this to the family.
This means that the audience is very sympathetic to Maria while not understanding the devotion in her motivations. It also means that the audience is quite unsympathetic to the mother, even at the end when she is so haughtily hostile to the doctors and nurses, but decides that her little girl is a saint and should be beatified. In these days of awareness of abuse of children, psychologically as well as sexual, it appears that the training of Maria, the encouraging of her penances, assuming that she understands these matters as an adult, is a warning against spiritual abuse.
Mainstream Catholics and mainstream Christians will be dismayed at this particular portrait of Catholicism, its joylessness, its awareness of God as punishing more than loving, its focus on the sufferings of Jesus without looking to the resurrection, its rigidity of belief, intellectual understanding of faith without a personal pastoral dimension. Life is governed by puritanical attitudes in the Jansenist traidition in the Catholic church.
There is one friendly character in the film, the au pair from France, Bernadette, who brings to the household something of a more humane and sympathetic perspective on life, a support for Maria, offering some alternative way of looking at life, Maria relying on her more than the mother that she strictly obeys. It is Bernadette who speaks positively of Heaven and love for the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
One caution. Catholic viewers may be taken aback at a scene in the hospital where Maria expresses a desire for Communion. The priest brings the host but Maria cannot swallow it and it has detrimental effects on her breathing – and the nurse, matter-of-factly, simply takes the host out of her mouth and puts it on a towel. The scene is to highlight the unreality of the members of the sect in terms of illness and treatment.
There is a Spanish film of 2010, Camino, which has some similarities to Kreuzweg, the story of a little girl who is ill, a member of Opus Dei as is her family, who are unrealistic in her medical treatment, even brutal in their devout approach to religion, wanting her to be a saint.
Members of the society of St Pius X may find the film too critical, but mainstream viewers will find that this particular community, its beliefs and its spiritual practices are brought to life.
1. The title? Audience knowledge of the Stations of the Cross? The mystery of Jesus suffering?
2. Each of the stations named explicitly, an opportunity for audiences to learn about the Stations of the Cross?
3. Catholic sensibilities? The nature of the church, its history over 2000 years, traditions? The reforms of the Second Vatican Council? The development of traditionalist groups and beliefs? Anti- Vatican 2? Fundamentalist interpretation of scripture? A grim perception of human nature, evil and sinfulness? The role of Satan, temptation, sin? Audience sympathy for this cult? Sympathy for the church? 21st century perceptions of Catholicism?
4. The German setting, the town, the home, school, the church, the hospital, the beauty of the countryside?
5. The musical score, the religious motifs, the range of songs, Gregorian Chant, rock?
6. The structure: the 14 stations, the focus on Jesus, Marie becoming more like Jesus, the suffering Jesus? The spirituality of the cross, self-sacrifice, expiation for sins, personal mortification and asceticism? Identifying with the suffering Jesus? This being encouraged, especially in the Society of St Paul? Father Weber and his convictions? His words, urging Maria on to sanctity?
7. Though resurrection theology or spirituality – but talk about Purgatory, hell, heaven?
8. The style of the film? The majority of the stations being done in single takes, up to 10 minutes? The impact? Action within the frame? The audiences concentrating? The contrast with the active sequences, the walk in the mountains, the gymnasium at school?
9. The importance of the first station: the single take, Father Weber at the table, centre, young, clerically dressed? The mention of the Society of St Paul? The parallel with the Society of St Pius X? Both French foundations? The subject of Confirmation, asking the children to write a list of what they liked? The later discussion of the list? The discussion of the sacraments, the orthodoxy, the children and their earnestness, Maria wanting to answer every question? The anti-worldliness? Confirmation and the children becoming warriors of Christ? Struggle with self, supporting neighbours, no matter what, the challenge to convert the world? Baptism? Leading to confirmation?
10. Father Weber, anti- Vatican 2? Saying that the council had destroyed the church? The stances against worldly music? Leading to sin? Rhythms and movements? The Satanic lyrics?
11. The family, Maria and her concerns, especially with her younger brother and healing? The private talks with Father Weber? The tone of martyrdom, suffering, the reference to other saints and young martyrs? The walk in the countryside with the family group, Bernadette as au pair? Maria taking off her coat, the cold, carrying Johan and the stain on her coat, her mother upset? Discussions with Bernadette? Praying with her? The mother wanting the photo, Tom and his running around with his telescope? Maria not wanting to be photographed, not wanting to be vain? The mother demanding, the father acceding, the other children? The two photos? The mother and her severity and for so many things on Maria? Putting her down? Targeting her?
12. The further stations across? The school scene, the library and the irritated young man, Christian and his attraction to Maria, the discussions, maths, the elaborate problems? The discussion about choir? Christian’s invitation, the issue of soul music and rock? Don Bosco church? The possibility of going? Maria late, her mother picking her up in the car, lying to her mother about what she did in the library, making up the friend Rebecca instead of Christian? The mother and the choir, severity about music, dancing and Satan, wanting Father Weber to start his own choir instead? The mother elaborating on who could do this? The issue of the dress the confirmation, gradually revealing some of the party afterwards?
13. The mother urging Maria to confession, the single take, the close-up? The atmosphere of the confessional and its being enclosed? Maria and her sins, Father Weber probing, sermonising, wanting more, leading to sexual issues, Maria confessing her lies, explanation, vanity, the attraction to Christian? Father Weber and his questioning her self-worth? Feeling down? The effect of the confession? Her mother and her attack, about the lies, the issue of psychological abuse of children in confession?
14. The meal, Bernadette, the mother telling her not to intervene, the father saying grace – but little else? Maria confessing about the lie, her mother attacking her, twisting things? Maria sobbing? Getting control, continuing the meal?
15. Maria continuing to be unwell, not eating, playing with Johan, setting the table? Christian’s phone call, her mother’s taunts, criticising her for not supervising Johan and setting the table? Her job?
16. Maria at school, the gym, the contemporary music, refusing to run, the teacher and the issues of tolerance, the boys running backwards, mocking Maria? Urging her to be tolerant of them? The teacher and her support of Maria? Christian and his observations, the talk afterwards, Maria liking him but advising him to go?
17. The confirmation, the hymn to the Trinity, the congregation, the Bishop, Father Weber attending, the initial confirmations, the words of the Bishop, the slap, Maria coming forward, collapsing?
18. Maria ill, with the doctor, the stripping and the relevance with the station of the cross? The tests, the doctrine the sympathy? The occasion and her mother, absolute harshness, demanding her rights, feeling insulted? The doctor calling in a witness? The prescriptions? The doctor saying the mother was the guardian and having to warn her about her daughter’s health? The mother walking out with Maria?
19. Maria in hospital, Bernadette coming and Maria expressing her admiration for her, comparisons? The doctor, his treatment? Maria wanting Communion, Father Weber coming, her being unable to swallow, the nurse taking the host out of her mouth? The mother’s reaction? The matter-of-factness of the nurses?
20. Maria and her willingness to give her life for Johan, his speaking as she died?
21. Maria’s death, her mother’s reaction, intervening, the father not? The mother and her rationalising of Maria’s illness, the sanctification, Johan’s miracle? Her talking of introducing the cause of the beatification? Her firm will finally breaking down and weeping?
22. The funeral, seeing the men filling in the grave? The crosses? The boy, Christian, his walk at the end?
23. The morbid spirituality of the Society, on human nature, sin, hell, expectations of hell? The effect that this has children? 14, impressionable? The reminder of the traditional stories of the saints, like St Agnes and St Maria Goretti? Audience wariness about these traditional and hagiographical stories?
24. What was the audience left with? Grim spirituality, no resurrection? Bernadette’s attempt to give some humanity to the spirituality? And Maria in heaven, with love, with Jesus, God and the Holy Spirit?
