Stigmata (1999)

When a young woman becomes afflicted by stigmata, a priest is sent to investigate her case, which may have severe ramifications for his faith and for the Catholic Church itself.

Director:

Rupert Wainwright

Writers:

Tom Lazarus (story), Tom Lazarus (screenplay)

Stars:

Patricia Arquette, Gabriel Byrne, Jonathan Pryce

6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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)

Storyline

A priest from the Vatican is sent to Sao Paulo, Brazil to investigate the appearance of the face of the Virgin Mary on the side of a building. While there he hears of a statue of the Virgin Mary bleeding tears in a small town outside of the city. Meanwhile, a young woman in the U.S. begins to show signs of stigmata, the wounds of Christ. The priest from the Vatican links up with her and cares for her as she is increasingly afflicted by the stigmata. Her ranting and raving finally begins to make sense to the priest who starts to question what his religion has stood for for the last 1900 years.

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Plot Keywords:

priest | stigmata | wound | vatican | catholic | 

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Taglines:

This Summer, What Will You Believe?

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Genres:

Horror

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for intense violent sequences, language and some sexuality

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English Assyrian Neo-Aramaic Portuguese Italian Aramaic

Release Date:

10 September 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

Toby's Story

Filming Locations:

Greystone Park & Mansion - 905 Loma Vista Drive, Beverly Hills, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$29,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$18,309,666, 12 September 1999

Gross USA:

$50,046,268

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$89,446,268

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), FGM Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When discussing the five stigmata, Frankie refers to the spear in Jesus' side as "the one that kills him." However, the spear was used to be certain that he was already dead.

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Goofs

The plot centers on the supposed ban of "Gospel of Thomas". In fact, this gospel (along with many other gnostic or non-canonical texts) was never officially suppressed by Catholic Church and its translations can be freely bought in bookstores.

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Quotes

Dr. Reston: What's happening in your life, Frankie? Do you have a lot of stress at work?
Frankie: I cut hair.
Dr. Reston: Any trouble with a significant other?
Frankie: Yes.
Dr. Reston:

• And that is?

Frankie: I'm not very significant.

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Alternate Versions

The DVD features an optional director's alternate ending from the theatrical version. In the scene near the end after Frankie (Patricia Arquette) is freed from her affliction, Father Kiernan (Gabriel Byrne) carries her outside in his arms and sits at a bench, and we see her collapse in his arms. He looks up to see her holding a bird in her hand, then she walks away. After she apparently walks away, he looks back down to see her lifeless body still in his arms -- she actually died from the fifth stigmata and he watched her soul depart. In the theatrical version, after she walks away with the bird, Father Kiernan is left alone on the bench, and the impression is that she's "cured" and lives the rest of her life naturally.

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Connections

Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Horror Movies: 1990s (2015)

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Soundtracks

The Pretty Things Are Going to Hell
Written by David Bowie and Reeves Gabrels
Performed by David Bowie
Courtesy of Risky Folio, Inc.
By Arrangement with Virgin Records America, Inc.

User Reviews

Better than my first impression

Stigmata is at the very least controversial. I feel that it's really struggling to find a genre, so it's harsh to compare it to the Exorcist as many have. This is a film based somewhat on truth, and somewhat on legend with a little Hollywood finesse to bring it all together. It doesn't stay completely true to either a Christian audience or to mainstream Hollywood, but I think that's to it's credit. I don't know many people who knowingly make this kind of cross-over in their normal rental choices, so in that way, it helps to reach the largest possible audience. The way that the film afflicts it's heroine with the stigmata through the rosary is just typical screenwriting, and the romance aspects are predictable. The film, based upon the discovery of the Gospel of Thomas, assumes that the discovery of that scroll had never been know to the public, and that personal vendettas within the Vatican had helped to suppress it. In reality however, there have been numerous translations of that Gospel, although I rather doubt that the modern bible will be amended. (Due to it's debated authenticity.) In short, the film is thought-provoking, yet not heavy-handed in it's message. It leaves you asking questions as to your own faith, and to the nature of the established "church" far after you've reached the final credits. As an action-suspense-thriller I'd rank it about a 7 out of 10, but in terms of it's religious nature it succeeds greatly in the find-the-truth-for-yourself message that it conveys.