In the Name of the Son

How did IN THE NAME OF THE SON—a movie about a suburban mom who questions her Catholic faith—win first prize in a European “genre” film festival? Like its protagonist, at first you might have to accept not knowing. Elisabeth (Astrid Whettnall) has a beautiful home, two sons, and a supportive husband. A strong-minded woman with a firm but gentle demeanor, she hosts a radio show called “Living Word,” in which she fields questions by doubting believers. Elisabeth’s diocese is under siege, its priests looking for volunteers to help prop up the church. Her family takes in Father Achille, who becomes her spiritual advisor and her show’s co-host. Elisabeth is pleased when her husband takes their adolescent son Jean-Charles to a men’s spiritual retreat in the mountains. But something goes badly wrong, propelling Elisabeth’s life into a horrifying trajectory from which neither the law nor the Church will protect her. You won’t be surprised to learn that director Vincent Lannoo’s best-known previous work was a vampire comedy. (In French with subtitles) —B.B.