Most Catholics associate St. Bernadette Soubirous with the portrayal by Jennifer Jones in the 1943 film The Song of Bernadette. That’s all fine and well — it’s a great movie that won Ms. Jones an Academy Award, and it’s still regarded as one of the finest Catholic-themed movies that Hollywood has produced. But it’s still Hollywood — a mish-mash of truth mixed with a tantalizing dab of fiction. That’s one of the reasons French movie director Jean Delannoy decided to make the definitive film on St. Bernadette and the apparitions at Lourdes, France.
It was in 1987 that Bernadette began production. Delannoy’s vision of what he wanted was firm — just the facts as recorded in historical accounts, with no embellishment or sentiment added to heighten the drama of what happened. The truth was enough, he reasoned, without throwing in the standard Hollywood formulas.
The actress chosen to play the saint was Sydney Penny, who had worked on several television productions as well as a film by Clint Eastwood. At age 15, she left for France and began learning the language necessary to play her role. The movie was to be shot twice — once in English and once in French.
Now 33, Penny recalls, “I knew nothing about Bernadette Soubirous before I received the script. The first description I was told was just that she was a young girl from a poor family whose visions of the ‘Lady in White’ elevated her to fame. I was moved by her honesty and humility and what touched me spiritually was the simple thought that there is a message for each of us, if only we keep our ears open to hear it.”
The production was shot in 1987 in and around Lourdes. The original grotto was unusable for filming, since it had changed so much since the events of 19th century, so locations nearby were found that resembled the places described and photographed at the time of the apparitions.
Released in 1988, the Bernadette movie found acclaim from Catholics around the world. The Vatican called it a “sensitive portrayal of a very moving story that deserves a wide audience.” And it was chosen by the shrine at Lourdes to be the official representation of the events there. A special theater was built to show the movie every day to the millions of pilgrims who journey there each year.
Sydney Penny is hopeful that this movie will influence more people now than ever. “I hope the word gets out that there's a film with a beautiful, simple story to tell that is still relevant today, whether one is Catholic or not.”
Bernadette was released on DVD and VHS by Ignatius Press in December. You can read more about the film and an interview with Sydney Penny online here.
