Stigmata
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The movie Stigmata is about an atheist hairdresser who suddenly experiences Christ-like bleeding wounds, after her mother gives her a gift of an antique rosary. Terrible things happen to her which she can’t understand. Doctors can't help and at the moment of one of her horrifying episodes, a chance encounter with a local priest is caught on tape. A Vatican Priest Gabriel Byrne investigates the case against his better judgement.
Stigmata opens in a church in Brazil where Father Andrew is investigating a bleeding statue for the Vatican. It started when the parish priest, Father Alameida, dies. Father Andrew is an investigator of miracles for the Vatican. He is convinced that a miracle has taken place, but when he reports back to Cardinal Houseman, he is told that no such church or priest exists. Father Andrew is also a scientist turned priest, who is in conflict with the church. A small boy steals the rosary from the dead body of Father Alameida and sells it to a tourist. This is where the plot thickens. The tourist is the mother of Frankie Paige an atheist hairdresser. Frankie receives the rosary in a package sent to her by her mother, after she touches the rosary strange things start to happen.
At first her wrists are pierced and begin to bleed. The rest of the Stigmata appears in stages throughout the film. Father Andrew is given the task of investigating the phenomenon. Stigmata is a well acted film. Does Jonathan Pryce ever play a good guy? The scenes are intense and keep you guessing about the reason that the Stigmata is appearing. Of course, there is concern that it is not a good but an evil possesion. The Vatican in the form of Cardinal Houseman is attempting to suppress all knowledge of what is happening. The reason for this only becomes clear near the end of the film. The secret we have been waiting for, in the end is an exciting portrayal of a long held secret of the church.
Despite what others say, who in my estimation are not spiritually awake, the film ending, revealing the church's secret was well worth the effort given to it through the film.
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