Stigmata (1999)

Excellent Movie, it's a thinker!
This is a great movie about possession and religious theory. It makes you think and the casting is great. Unless you are a bible-thumper or someone with a stick in your you know what, you'll enjoy this movie. It's one of my favorites!

"STIGMATA"
A young woman Frankie Paige (Arquette) suddenly starts showing in her skin and experiences the extreme pain and bleeding of the marks and skin lacerations of Christ at the time when he was being tortured and crucified. It isn't long before she catches the attention of Father Kiernan( Gabriel Byrne) the low key Vatican chief investigator of such cases. However Cardinal Houseman ( Jonathan Pryce) who initially sends Kiernan to investigate,comes to the conclusion that public exposure of Frankie's agony could cause great harm or even destroy the Church and engages in a plot to silence Frankie Paige (Arquette) forever. Kiernan becomes aware of Houseman's sinister plan and must race against time to stop him from achieving his misguided and destructive goal and to save the girl's life.
This film shows and deals the phenomena allegedly experienced by some in different parts of the world, its name "Stigmata". To me it carries a powerful message that no one is immune to this phenomena, including those with little or no religious faith. To me its an eye opener.
Superbly well acted. In my opinion, so far, Gabriel Byrne's most memorable role.

Opened new windows in my mind
I don't usually watch the kind of movie I thougth this was -- avoid them, religiously. (pun intended) But when I saw the cast, and found a copy of the video for cheap, I had to investigate.

Both Burne and Arquette were wonderful in this, and the visual images were arresting and beautiful. (The flashes of images of crucifixion made religious stories so much more real to me than dunking one's head in a bucket o' blood, like Some Other Movies have done.) But I found the point of the movie to be thrilling, and it instigated in me a lot of new thought and hope.

I was so glad to see how many other people have questioned religion without giving up faith -- or the quest for truth. I had heard of the Nag Hammadi Gospels, but didn't really know what they were. This was a lovely way to introduce me to them, and it inspired me to check them out.

The teachings of the man who threw the moneychangers out of the temple, who came to tell people that there's more to religion than sacrificing a pigeon, have been turned into another monstrous institution that crushes people under the wheels of its machinery. This film dares to question what this Religion has become, and to invite people to hear the words of a simple rabbi in Galilee, who -- far from owning the world's most expensive real estate -- owned nothing more than the clothes on his back.

Great entertainment, intriguing and thought-provoking, and a reward for those who don't follow The Gospel of Movie Critics.