Synopsis:
A beautiful drama with vibrant, rich photography, VISIONARIES recounts a true story about a group of four young people who claimed to have been visited by the Virgin Mary on a hillside in the Basque region of Spain in the 1930s. To the humble, honest folks living in Ezkioga--a lovely coastal...
A beautiful drama with vibrant, rich photography, VISIONARIES recounts a true story about a group of four young people who claimed to have been visited by the Virgin Mary on a hillside in the Basque region of Spain in the 1930s. To the humble, honest folks living in Ezkioga--a lovely coastal spot blessed with both clear sandy beaches and lush grassy mountains--the sightings are shocking news. Because the Republic recently implemented a law calling for the removal of all religious statues and relics from courthouses and schools, drawing an angry protest from the Right, the sightings came with volatile political messages.
Joshe, a young man working as a waiter in nearby San Sebastian and studying to become a math teacher, is the protagonist of the story, and the one who lived to tell it to the filmmakers. His fiancee, who claims she saw the Virgin but really did not, abandons early on in the film for her religion. His new flame, the dark and intriguing Usua, is the real thing--and she is the leader of the "real" visionaries. The visionaries are paraded about Spain as celebrities and are captured on film during their moments of religious ecstasy while communicating with the Virgin. Meanwhile, Joshe stands by questioning these events, as the Spanish Civil War looms ominously over the the nation's confused and divided people.
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