REVELATIONS OF DIVINE LOVE: A Life In Search Of Meaning

What initially drew me to Revelations of Divine Love was its trailer, which promised a DIY medieval period piece. That immediately brought to mind Andy Milligan, the controversial queer auteur who attempted something similar—often with wildly varying degrees of success, in and around New York in the late ’60s and early ’70s, crafting handmade sets and costumes on shoestring budgets.

As it turns out, that’s where the comparison ends. With her sophomore feature, Caroline Golum delivers a level of sincerity—both in message and execution—that few filmmakers are capable of achieving.

The film draws from the life of Julian of Norwich (Tessa Strain), a real-life Christian mystic about whom very little is known, yet whose writings make her one of the earliest known female authors in the English language. In 1373, while believing herself to be on her deathbed, Julian experienced a series of 16 divine visions. She would go on to become an anchoress, willingly sealing herself into a small cell attached to a church—where she spent the rest of her life documenting and attempting to understand those revelations.

Golum’s film lives within that confinement. As Julian writes and reflects, she becomes an unlikely spiritual anchor for the surrounding community, even as she remains physically cut off from it. Outside her walls, plague and political unrest reshape the world; inside, Julian wrestles with something far more unknowable.

At times, Divine Love plays like a stage production, its theatrical performances framed by handmade sets, miniatures, and costumes that emphasize its constructed, almost storybook quality. In her first feature role, Tessa Strain delivers an intense, introspective performance that elevates everything around her. Given the spiritual terrain the film explores, it’s the kind of role that could easily tip into abstraction or parody. Instead, Strain grounds Julian in a quiet, unwavering conviction that feels lived-in rather than performed.

Divine Love charts a lifelong journey, as Julian spends years in self-imposed isolation attempting to decipher her visions, all while beset by the distant but ever-present turmoil of the outside world. It’s through that isolation—and her refusal to abandon the search for meaning—that she arrives at something unexpectedly vital. Revelations of Divine Love argues that understanding may be elusive, but faith—quiet, stubborn, and enduring—can still be transformative, even in these trying times.