I have no independent knowledge of the titular character of Vision: From the Life of Hildegard von Bingen so I had a hard time deciding whether or not the movie was an effective portrayal of her life. What did the opening scenes of welcoming the new century as if it was the apocalypse have to do with her? She seems sensible enough with her approach to medicine and saying that women were more likely to be taken advantage of if they lived with their male counterparts who took a vow of chastity. She liked books and knowledge over power and wealth. She wasn’t afraid to not have creature comfort, but she did want relational comfort by playing favorites with certain acolytes against her better judgment because God told her to. She had a traveling ministry and claimed that she got visions from God. She appreciated beauty and said that God did as well- whether visually or through song. For all of this, she put herself inconsiderable danger with the church leadership of her day, but ultimately persevered and was admired. In many ways, it is a starkly beautiful film, but I would say that you’ll leave the movie with a nagging doubt as to whether you got the whole story or not. A must see for those who are interested in that time period or church history.