The Song of Bernadette
Composite Score: 81.73
Starring: Jennifer Jones, Charles Bickford, William Eythe, Vincent Price, Lee J. Cobb, Gladys Cooper, Anne Revere, Roman Bohnen, Aubrey Mather, and Charles Dingle
Director: Henry King
Writers: George Seaton and Franz Werfel
Genres: Biography, Drama
MPAA Rating: Approved
Box Office: $7 million worldwide
Why should you Watch This Film?
The Song of Bernadette follows the story of Bernadette Soubirous, a French teen in the late 1850s who claims to have had a vision of a beautiful woman in the town dump and the religious and political upheaval such a claim causes for her small French town. It was nominated for twelve Academy Awards and won four of them (Leading Actress, Black-and-White Cinematography, Black-and-White Art Direction, and Original Score). The film is a religious epic at its heart with similar messaging, run-time, and character development to films like The Ten Commandments and Ben-Hur, but it differs from those in that it relies on acting and story development rather than huge sets and striking visual effects to maintain its audience’s attention. For the most part, it succeeds in its mission and certainly has earned its place among the greats.
Why shouldn’t you Watch This Film?
If you don’t subscribe to the film’s religious undertones, it’s going to be a difficult sell. Made in 1943, The Song of Bernadette presupposes a Christian belief system in its audience, and specifically one familiar with catechism and sacraments and the miraculous, even opening with a scrawl that states, “For those who believe in God, no explanation is necessary. For those who do not believe in God, no explanation is possible.” This is a film made for a specifically religious audience. For me, I had no real issue with the film’s heavy religious imagery, but my background is highly religious, so for others, it might not be as palatable. This is not to say that any of the acting is bad or that the story is not still interesting, just that if it were made today, no one would see it outside of a church movie night or something and it probably would have been made by the guys who made Facing the Giants. Honestly, this might be one of the best overtly Christian films ever made, far above the quality of any that have come out in the last twenty years or so (unless maybe you count Terence Malik as making Christian films).
Also, this film probably does not need to be as long as it is. Obviously, the filmmakers wanted to make a film that was as true to Franz Werfel’s book as possible, but it plays out very much like a visual novel. That being said, it’s hard to pick out a scene or moment that could be cut, mainly, the film just stretches out for a long time to be a character study of a girl who has visions of what turns out to be the Virgin Mary. At some point in the middle of the film, it becomes apparent exactly how the rest of the story is going to go, and the film loses its audience’s attention – bringing them back by the end for the film’s conclusion thanks to some quality acting on Jennifer Jones’s part.
So wait, why should you Watch This Film?
While still being heavily influenced by its Christian/Catholic background, The Song of Bernadette artfully challenges the resistance to change that is inherent in both religion and politics. Bernadette’s visions are heavily resisted by the town’s political leaders who fear ridicule when she gains a small following who believe that she is seeing Mary. Each politician approaches the “miracle” differently. The mayor seeks to discredit Bernadette through political machinations and his connections with other higher ups in the French government to brush it under the rug. The chief of police seeks to frighten her into recanting by threatening to arrest her family. And the chief prosecutor tries to use logic to get her to see the error of her ways. All of them fail because Bernadette, and the people of their town, are firm in their faith and the veracity of Bernadette’s visions. In the same way, the religious leaders of the area try to silence Bernadette and get rid of the superstition surrounding her visions. They fail in just the same ways as the politicians, and the film does a really good job of encouraging its viewers to remain true to what they know to be true in the face of corrupt leadership. Now, these leaders face very few consequences for their attempts and keep their places of authority, so the challenge only goes so far, but it still highlights the importance of personal faith over societal faith.
The other thing worth noting, keeping The Song of Bernadette worth watching, is Jennifer Jones’s performance as Bernadette. It won the Oscar for Best Actress, and the win makes perfect sense. Jones portrays the entire spiritual and personal journey of this young woman from carefree catechist to small-town “cult” leader to lovelorn nun on her deathbed. The performance displays a range rarely seen even in modern filmmaking, and its accolades are appropriate. She carries this film across from some high-quality talent of the mid-1900s, holding her own in scenes with Lee J. Cobb, Gladys Cooper, Vincent Price, and Charles Bickford.
Skillful acting from its young lead and a message of personal faith overcoming societal pressures make The Song of Bernadette worth watching, and indeed a Great Film. It suffers from certain presuppositions about its audiences’ religious leanings and from story drag in the middle, but still holds up as a classic. This religious epic about a young girl who brings miracles to a small community somehow has made its way into the list and makes itself a relatively watchable film in the process. Check it out if you get the chance.
