Miracle of St. Thérèse (also known as
Trial at the Vatican) is a French film released on August 29th, 1952. It is directed by André Haguet and written by Haguet and André Legrand. It chronicles the life of Thérèse Martin (played by France Descaut), better known as St. Thérèse the Little Flower or Thérèse of Lisieux.
As far as I can determine, this film has never been released on home video with the original French language track. The version I saw was dubbed in English. At first this was a little off-putting, as it tends to make the dialogue sound stilted and unnatural but, after a while, I became so absorbed in the film that it didn't really matter. I've had a personal devotion to St. Thérèse ever since I read her autobiography, "The Story of a Soul", and this film paints a moving portrait of her and a reverent, though austere, image of religious life.
Her life is portrayed, chiefly, through a series of vignettes. We see the death of her mother at a young age, which along with the departure of her sister Pauline (her "little mother" played by Suzanne Flon) for Carmel, greatly distresses young Thérèse. She is taken ill and attacked by a devil but is saved through the intersession of the Blessed Mother, who appears to Thérèse in a vision. As she enters adolescence she decides to follow Pauline (now Sister Agnes of Jesus) and her sister Marie, into Carmel. Her father (Jean Debucourt), though sad to lose his beloved daughter, supports this decision but Thérèse faces opposition from the superiors of the order who feel that she is too young. She travels to Rome with her father to appeal to the pope and is ultimately allowed to become a Carmelite.
In Carmel, Thérèse is treated harshly by the mother superior, Marie de Gonzague (Valentine Tessier), who feels that she is too proud. Therese tells the other sisters that she wishes to be a saint, quoting Matthew 5:48, "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect." But Mother Gonzaga feels this is presumptuous saying, "Our Lord asks more of saints." We see Thérèse take her vows, and say goodbye to her father for the last time. She also struggles when she learns of her father's illness. She herself begins to suffer from bodily illness after her sister Pauline is elected as prioress but she tries to hide this from the other sisters and suffers silently.
The climax of the film (if it can be said to have one), is Thérèse's dark night of the soul, where she begins to question "if there is a heaven." Through this she discovers her little way. In a brilliant scene she struggles to find her true calling one night in her cell. She recalls passages from scripture that seem to offer to comfort and she chastises herself for her pride, "You compare yourself to God? What have you done but refuse the life he gave you?" Finally, she remembers the words of St. Paul in his letter to the Corinthians, "but be zealous for
the better gifts and I show unto you a more excellent way the way of
charity." From this she determines her vocation, "my vocation is love!"
After portraying her becoming a spiritual sister to missionary Father Adolphe Roulland (thus fulfilling her wish to be a missionary in Indochina) and beginning to write her childhood memories (which would eventually be published as "The Story of a Soul") the film shows Thérèse's death long suffering and death from Tuberculosis. Returning to the Vatican, we learn that Thérèse was canonized as a saint on May 17th, 1925 by Pope Pius XI and was named the second patron of France after Joan of Arc (to whom Thérèse had a childhood devotion). Though this episodic narrative is not the most streamlined approach, it works for this story.
Outside of the crucial scene where Thérèse discovers her vocation of love the film has many memorable scenes. Her entry into Carmel, as her father watches from behind the bars, is particularly stirring. Director André Haguet gives the film a real sense of austerity. The score by Maurice-Paul Guillot is, perhaps a bit bombastic at times, but it mostly works and the use of Bach's Mass in B minor at the beginning and end of the film is quite effective. Despite the limitations of the dubbing, I was still impressed by the performances, particularly France Descaut as The Little Flower. She is really captures the saints simplicity, frankness and deep humility and cheerfulness in the face of suffering.
Though it is frustrating that a better transfer is not available,
The Miracle of St. Thérèse remains a triumph. It doesn't quite reach the heights of Maurice Cloche's
Monsieur Vincent (probably the best example of a French saint biopic), it is nonetheless a great movie in its own right.
Score: 9/10
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