Last year’s Exorcism of** **Emily Rose was inspired by the story of the Church-sanctioned exorcism of a Bavarian girl in the 1970s, told here with none of the horror or courtroom trappings of its US counterpart.
This is a character study of a religious family and their daughter (the excellent Hüller), determined to go away to university despite her severe epilepsy. But as her new freedom comes into conflict with both medication and morality, her illness returns in a deeply disturbing form. While Emily Rose hung its hat on the question of faith vs. science, this describes an illness tragically mishandled by those trying to help. Its intelligent, reserved tone makes it a perfect companion piece to more sensational treatments.