''Vision'' (german: Vision - Aus dem Leben der Hildegard von Bingen; English: ''Vision – From the Life of Hildegard von Bingen'') is a 2009 German film directed by

Margarethe von Trotta Margarethe von Trotta (; born 21 February 1942) is a German film director, screenwriter, and actress. She has been referred to as a "leading force" of the New German Cinema movement.

Plot

In ''Vision'', New German Cinema auteur

(''Marianne and Julianne'', ''Rosa Luxemburg'' and ''Rosentrasse'') tells the story of

Hildegard of Bingen Hildegard of Bingen (german: Hildegard von Bingen; la, Hildegardis Bingensis; 17 September 1179), also known as Saint Hildegard and the Sibyl of the Rhine, was a German Benedictine abbess and polymath active as a writer, composer, philosopher ...

, the famed 12th century Benedictine nun, Christian mystic, composer, philosopher, playwright, physician, poet, naturalist, scientist and ecological activist. Hildegard was a multi-talented, highly intelligent woman who had to work within the narrow social roles allowed for women at the time.

Cast

Barbara Sukowa Barbara Sukowa (; born 2 February 1950) is a German actress of screen and stage and singer. She has received three German Film Awards for Best Actress, three Bavarian Film Awards, Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress, Venice Film Festival ...

** Stella Holzapfel as Hildegard as a Child *

Heino Ferch Heino Ferch (born 18 August 1963) is a German film, theatre and television actor. His notable film roles include Albert Speer in ''Downfall (2004 film), Downfall'' (2004) and Harry Melchior in The Tunnel (2001 film), ''The Tunnel'' (2001). Biogr ...

as Brother Volmar *

Hannah Herzsprung Hannah Herzsprung (; born 7 September 1981) is a German actress. Biography Hannah Herzsprung is the daughter of actor Bernd Herzsprung and fashion designer Barbara Engel. She debuted as an actress in 1997 in the BR series ''Aus heiterem Himmel ...

as Sister Richardis * Mareile Blendi as Countess

Jutta von Sponheim Countess Jutta von Sponheim (22 December 1091 – 1136) was the youngest of four noblewomen who were born into affluent surroundings in what is currently the Rhineland-Palatinate. She was the daughter of Count Stephen of Spanheim. Jutta, instead ...

Sunnyi Melles Sunnyi Melles (born 7 October 1958 in Luxembourg, Luxembourg) is a Hungarian / Swiss actress active in Germany and Austria. Biography She is the only daughter of Austrian orchestral conductor Carl Melles and Hungarian noblewoman Judith von Ro ...

as Marchioness Richardis von Stade *

Alexander Held Gerald Alexander Held (born 19 October 1958) is a German actor. He is internationally best known for his historical depictions, as Walther Hewel in the 2004 film ''Der Untergang'', Robert Mohr in the 2005 film ''Sophie Scholl - Die letzten Tage' ...

as Abbot Kuno *

Lena Stolze Lena or LENA may refer to: Places * Léna Department, a department of Houet Province in Burkina Faso * Lena, Manitoba, an unincorporated community located in Killarney-Turtle Mountain municipality in Manitoba, Canada * Lena, Norway, a village in ...

as Sister Jutta *

Paula Kalenberg Paula Kalenberg (born 9 November 1986) is a German actress. She is probably best known to international audiences for her roles in films '' Krabat'', '' Vision – From the Life of Hildegard von Bingen'' and '' Jew Suss: Rise and Fall''. Career ...

as Sister Clara *

Annemarie Düringer Annemarie Düringer (26 November 1925 – 26 November 2014) was a Swiss actress. She was born in Arlesheim, Basel-Landschaft. The daughter of a Swiss industrialist, she graduated from Cours Simon, Paris in 1946, and from the Max Reinhardt Semi ...

as Abbess Tengwich *

Devid Striesow Devid Striesow (born 1 October 1973 in Bergen auf Rügen, East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 Oct ...

Emperor Frederick Barbarossa Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (german: link=no, Friedrich I, it, Federico I), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death 35 years later. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt on ...

Production

Integrally involved with the 1970s Women’s Movement, filmmaker

has always been drawn to women whose story has been marginalized over time. Von Trotta and others re-found Hildegard von Bingen in their search for historically forgotten (or misremembered) women. While writing the screenplay for her 1983 film ''Rosa Luxemburg'', von Trotta’s interest in Hildegard re-emerged and she wondered whether Hildegard’s life would be good material for a movie. After writing a few scenes, von Trotta felt the film had a powerful message and potential resonance but didn’t feel she could find a producer ready to make the movie. Thus, von Trotta shelved the idea until it came to cinematic fruition recently. The film reunites von Trotta with Barbara Sukowa (''Zentropa'', ''Berlin Alexanderplatz''). Sukowa portrays Hildegard’s fierce determination to expand the responsibilities of women within the Benedictine order, as she fends off outrage from the Church over the visions she claims to receive from God. Shot in the original medieval cloisters in the German countryside, in ''Vision'', von Trotta and Sukowa create a portrait of a woman who has emerged from the shadows of history as a forward-thinking pioneer of faith, change and enlightenment. The film depicts Hildegard's diplomatic (sometime manipulative) skills to understand men and their vanities in order to found her own convent. It captures Hildegard’s love of happiness, mankind and their connectedness to faith. ''Vision'' made its European debut in 2009 and is being distributed in the U.S. by

Zeitgeist Films Zeitgeist Films is a New York-based distribution company founded in 1988 which acquires and distributes films from the U.S. and around the world. In 2017, Zeitgeist entered into a multi-year strategic alliance with film distributor Kino Lorber. ...

starting October 13, 2010.

Accolades

*Official Selection -

Telluride Film Festival The Telluride Film Festival (TFF) is a film festival held annually in Telluride, Colorado during Labor Day weekend (the first Monday in September). The 49th edition took place on September 2 -6, 2022. History First held on 30 August 1974, th ...

2009 *Official Selection -

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permane ...

2009

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vision - From the Life of Hildegard von Bingen Films directed by Margarethe von Trotta 2009 films 2000s biographical films 2000s historical films German biographical films German historical films 2000s German-language films Films set in the 12th century Films set in the Holy Roman Empire Films about classical music and musicians Hildegard of Bingen 2000s German films