Stigmata (1999)

Director:

Rupert Wainwright

Writers (WGA):

Tom Lazarus (story)
Tom Lazarus (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

10 September 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Fantasy | Mystery | Drama | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

The Messenger is Here

Plot:

A priest from the Vatican is sent in to investigate claims that a small town in Brazil has a church where statues bleed from the eyes...

Plot Keywords:

Priest | Stigmata | Wound | Vatican | Catholic

Awards:

6 nominations

Cast

Patricia Arquette	...	Frankie Paige
Gabriel Byrne	...	Father Andrew Kiernan
Jonathan Pryce	...	Cardinal Daniel Houseman
Nia Long	...	Donna Chadway
Thomas Kopache	...	Father Durning
Rade Serbedzija	...	Marion Petrocelli (as Rade Sherbedgia)
Enrico Colantoni	...	Father Dario
Dick Latessa	...	Father Gianni Delmonico
Portia de Rossi	...	Jennifer Kelliho
Patrick Muldoon	...	Steven
Ann Cusack	...	Dr. Reston
Shaun Toub	...	Doctor
Tom Hodges	...	ER Nurse
Lydia Hazan	...	Attending Nurse
Shaun Duke	...	Dr. Eckworth (as Duke Moosekian)

Also Known As:

Toby's Story (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for intense violent sequences, language and some sexuality.

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Assyrian Neo-Aramaic | Portuguese | Italian | Aramaic

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Netherlands:16 | Argentina:13 | Australia:MA | Chile:14 | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Ireland:15 | New Zealand:R16 | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/16 | South Africa:18 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:18 | USA:R (certificate #36043) | South Korea:18 | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:R(A) (original rating) | Singapore:M18 (re-rating)

Filming Locations:

Eastern Columbia Building - 849 S. Broadway, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

The "Aramaic" Frankie writes on the wall, is actually ancient Hebrew, because Rupert Wainright thought looked more intriguing.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The priest stated to Frankie that she was the same age as St. Francis when he received the stigmata, 23. In fact, St. Francis was 42 years old when he received the stimata.

Quotes:

[Frankie is possessed by Father Alameida]
Father Andrew Kiernan: Frankie? Frankie... who are you?
Frankie: The messenger is not important.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in End of Days (1999)

Soundtrack:

The Pretty Things Are Going to Hell

Better than you might think

The "stigmata" is a Christian religious term that refers to the spontaneous appearance of wounds corresponding to the wounds on the Christ's body when he was crucified. This religious experience is most typically associated with deeply religious people and, I believe, is not one that is widely taken seriously. What makes this movie interesting is that it portrays the appearance of these wounds as a terrifying, extremely painful and ultimately humiliating experience. There's nothing conventionally religious in the experience portrayed here -- in fact, the victim is an athiest.

But, having bypassed the conventional, the movie is only partially successful in bringing the experience of the stigmata to the screen. The movie is a victim itself of a conventional portrayal of the evil bureaucratic Vatican desk jockeys suppressing "true" religion. And I have to admit that, as I was watching it, I found myself thinking, "Hmm, that sounds like the Gospel of Thomas," -- a famous Gnostic Gospel. Surprise.

But, overall, I'd recommend it as a decent movie and a departure from the generic, bland portrayal of Christian religious experience a la the Hallmark channel or "Touched by an Angel." It is a movie that can make you think about the nature of religious experience and its impact on an ordinary life.