Netherlands Production Platform - Nederlands Film Festival

Lourdes
Holland Harbour Productions
Netherlands
Writer/Directors André van der
Hout and Adri Schrover
Producer Nadadja Kemper
Producer Rob Vermeulen
36 • NPP 2008
Synopsis
Mathieu Verlinden (28) works as a prenatal
researcher in a medical centre. His ailing
mother dies. She had hoped to go with him on
a pilgrimage to Lourdes but Mathieu could
never find the time. Her Catholic funeral
reaches an unusual conclusion: she wanted
to be cremated. Mathieu leaves for Lourdes
with his mother’s ashes.
Dusk falls outside Limoges. Mathieu hits
something with his car. Walking back, he
finds a six-year-old girl dead. In a moment of
despair, he decides to leave her there.
He stops for a break at a small hotel down
the road. Juliette, the owner is attractive. She
pours him a drink and asks no further questions.
Slowly, Mathieu comes to his senses.
Not the best moment to meet the woman of
your dreams. Mathieu returns to Holland, his
mothers' ashes unscattered.
He is surprised at how easily he sinks back
into his old life. He examines unborn foetuses
without batting an eyelid. The tragedy seems
a distant memory: as if it never happened.
One year later. His sister’s seven-year-old
daughter briefly goes missing and his sister
becomes a nervous wreck. Mathieu begins to
realise what effect the accident in France could
have had. He returns to Limoges.
Juliette is still there, as attractive as ever.
Initially checking in for one night, Mathieu
stays for nine. One night, he discovers a girl’s
bedroom: toys on the ground left unexpectedly
and then frozen in time. The next morning,
Mathieu disappears.
Rotterdam, two months later. Juliette pays
Mathieu a surprise visit. Mathieu shows her
around. They get stoned and sing along to a
tearjerker on the car radio. Mathieu realises
that he is incapable of having a normal relationship
with her as long as the accident
remains unspoken. He asks her to leave after
a week. France, some months later. Together
again. Mathieu meets Juliette’s ex. He tells
about his missing girl, his inattentiveness, and
his guilt. The little body that was later found on
the roadside, run over by some bastard.
The end of summer. Juliette would like to
have Mathieu’s child, settle with him in Rotterdam
and start afresh. The following morning,
Mathieu flees again. The next morning, he
scatters his mother’s ashes in the sea.
Five years later. Mathieu is on holiday with
his new family. He finally manages to make it
to Lourdes. On the return journey, he stops at
Juliette’s. Juliette is alone. He reveals his
secret bluntly: I killed your daughter. She
looks down the road and nods: she already
knew.
His new wife has gone for a stroll with the
kids. She watches Mathieu and Juliette from
the café’s terrace. There is silence on the way
back. Did you love her very much Yes, very
much. Darkness slowly descends.
Director’s statement
Lourdes tells a story of a great love - immense
happiness coupled with a fatal accident.
The film will not be narrated from Mathieu’s
perspective alone. The phone call Juliette
ignored on their first meeting is initially
an insignificant detail. Only afterwards do
we see her reaction and learn more about
her background, and about her relationship
with her first husband who was looking after
their daughter on that fateful evening.
Juliette realises fairly quickly that she
has fallen in love with the person responsible
for the accident. She searches for an
answer to the question of why someone
would drive on after such a thing. However,
it only brings her closer to the man who did
it. Mathieu’s inability to deal with the dilemma
contrasts with her own: she finds a way
to deal with her loss and forgives him.
Implicit, discontinuous images, fragmented
scenes with loose edges, unfinished, yet
having a significant emotional impact. In that
respect, this film contrasts with our previous
two (De arm van Jezus and Het zwijgen),
which were both more plot-driven. Lourdes
is intended to be more schematic, with
greater emphasis on the actors.
The choice of simplicity allows us to pay
significant attention to the depiction of the
characters. A portrait of a man and a
woman, immoral yet recognisable, absurd
yet enigmatic, making us lose sight of the
freakish path of fate. It could all have been
so different. Happiness and devastation are