"Vision: From the Life of Hildegard Von Bingen" or just "Vision" is a German/French collaboration from 2009 and the language in here is almost exclusively German. It is another female-centered work written and directed by feminist filmmaker Margarethe von Trotta and, like many other times, actress Barbara Sukowa plays the main character, the title character in this case. The cast includes a handful actors and actresses from Germany that will definitely be known to film buffs, most of them wearing nun outfits. Obviously this does not include Heino Ferch and Devid Striesow and I personally felt that they were almost unrecognizable in here, something entirely different for them for once. But this is also already the only truly positive aspect here, one of very few interesting things about this film.The downside (frequent and deep down) is the usual stuff you get with Sukowa and often also von Trotta. I have seen the lead actress in many works before and she has huge problems in hitting the right notes. She almost never does and instead she goes painfully over the top in her performance as this is the only thing she can do to try to stay relevant and memorable because of her lack of talent when it comes to range and subtle acting. This film is the best example for all this. Even in her big nun outfit and with the audience only seeing her face for the most time, her performance still feels very false and unauthentic. I never had the impression to watch an actual nun.The script is only slightly better, if at all. There are moments when you can at least feel the filmmaker's intention to come up with an interesting story, but these are pretty rare and most of the action feels as if it has one intention only, namely make the character of Hildegard von Bingen look as baity as possibly and create as many oh so important moments for her as possible. You can certainly not say that the main character was written in a boring manner, but instead she was written in a way that lacked realism entirely, so people would never forget her I guess. Sad to see that von Trotta still has not learned anything about the art of subtlety and restraint. Young nuns keep dying and it has nothing to do with good story-telling. It all feels rushed in for the sake of having the title character deal with these losses, not because it made any sense. Herzsprung is as bad as she usually is (ridiculous German Film Award nomination) and Kalenberg, who I usually like more, plays a character who was written in the most stereotypical way you could imagine.There were also major flaws in the story in general. Herzsprung's character cries to Sukowa's that she is so scared and has no idea what to do without her if she dies one day and almost the very next scene, she tells her mentor that she will move on to another monastery and the bond seems to be lost entirely (at least from one side). Extremely bizarre. Then the rushed-in death, so we won't forget how brilliant and likable von Bingen is. There are huge plot-holes from start to finish. The visions reference in the title add almost nothing to the film and the way Sukowa acts in these scenes is the most cringeworthy stuff you could imagine. Also needless to say that this film lacks relevance in terms of depicting an actually existing person completely. It will not get anybody interested in von Bingen at all I am afraid and the reference to scenes added for dramatic purpose won't cut the cake anymore. Major disappointment here. Stay far far away.

I am Orthodox and the lives of Catholic saints are , for me,not more than nice episodes from good people existence. not the visions, not stigmata, not crumbs of piety are arguments for their sainthood. so, this movie was a source of delight. because it is tale of a woman. a real woman, far from aura or perfect gestures. a woman of a time. a victim and a conquerer. with falls and victories. a honest portrait, not very credible but honest ,about a human been in search of Truth. front against temptations. almost prey of them. sketch of Rennaiseance , she is a revolutionary and her fight fruit of strange visions. the central ingredient - images. the sweet part - exaggerations. many and amusing.but intention to give a not pink/fake portrait is good thing. and so, poor Hildegard has a honest portrait.

The movie follows the life of Hildegard Von Bingen a famous medieval nun/magistra/convent founder who had religious visions and was interested in science, music, medicine, and much more...The cinematography was absolutely beautiful and the story captivated me even with its modern feminist sensibilities every where....from the suitably milque toast priest Volmar to her renaissance passion for all intellectual pursuits....The cliché over veneration of books learning etc comes off as nerdy and dumb when exaggerated too much as it was in this movie. That said I wish I had read up on Hildegard before watching; there was apparently much substance to the woman--the movie fails here..having her oohing and aawing over stacks of books or staging an avant garde (for the era) play doesn't do her credit.The part of her that captivated me of course were the visions. Everyone hopes things like that are not mental illness. You grow to really like this woman and that is the key to good cinema no?The character of Richardis is good too...more than a hint of female homosexuality that was sublimated by both parties.This movie would have been a 10 if the visions had been shown better and the pseudo intellectual nerd and feminist stuff toned down.RECOMMEND

Independent German film was for decades the mainstay of the European cinematography. Brave, original thinking and the courage of the expression made it a breath of fresh air for the movie lovers. Unfortunately these days are long gone. Almost everybody tries so hard to be hip and Hollywoodlike. If we explode few things and simplify the plot for every simpleton, how can we miss? Well, we miss time and time again. The eternal beauty of filmmaking is about trying and having an idea, and a story to tell. It seems that there are no stories left to tell, or there are no people left who like the stories to be told to them." Vision" is a strange, unfinished movie, but it is an honest attempt to feel and think, and that is all one needs in this art form.