A tale of spiritual, erotic awakening
On the basis of two films that boast a tilted worldview and humid atmospherics, I am prepared to call director Lucrecia Martel the Jane Campion of Argentina.Like Martel's rookie feature, La Ciénaga (The Swamp), her sophomore outing, La Niña Santa (The Holy Girl), is a film that leaves cinephiles breathless and the mainstream movie maniacs scratching their heads. After I catch my breath I'll tell you how hypnotic, swoony and seductive it is.
On the basis of two films that boast a tilted worldview and humid atmospherics, I am prepared to call director Lucrecia Martel the Jane Campion of Argentina.
Like Martel's rookie feature, La Ciénaga (The Swamp), her sophomore outing, La Niña Santa (The Holy Girl), is a film that leaves cinephiles breathless and the mainstream movie maniacs scratching their heads. After I catch my breath I'll tell you how hypnotic, swoony and seductive it is.
Set in the town of Salta, nestled between the ankles of the Andes and the toes of a nearby rain forest, the film physically takes place at a hotel hosting a conference of ENT (ear, nose and throat) specialists.
Spiritually it takes place in the impressionable minds of two teenage girls, Amalia (María Alche), whose divorced mother and uncle own the hotel, and her chum, Josefina (Julieta Zylberberg). The moody friends may go to Bible class to hear the voice of God, but they're finding it increasingly hard to tune out their own carnal rumblings.
Martel gives us fragments of faces, conversations, scenes. She doesn't give us a conventional narrative; she layers different points of view and forces us to infer the drama, creating a jigsaw puzzle story for which we search for that missing piece.
Amalia's disgruntled mother, Helena (Mercedes Morán), is captivated by a hotel guest, Dr. Jano (Carlos Belloso). He in turn gets his pleasure from rubbing up against the rumps of young girls in public places.
When Amalia is thus violated (as haunting theremin music is played by a street musician), she vows to "save" the pervert.
Given Martel's narrative indirection and her oblique camera angles, it's hard to say whether Amalia's spiritual awakening coincides with her erotic awakening or whether the moody beauty has confused salvation with seduction. Martel's film is alert to any and every possibility.
Contact movie critic Carrie Rickey
at 215-854-5402 or crickey@phillynews.com.
The Holy Girl
*** (out of four stars)
Produced by Lita Stantic, written and directed by Lucrecia Martel, photography by Felix Monti, music by Andres Gerzenson, distributed by HBO Films and Fine Line Features. In Spanish with English subtitles.
Running time: 1 hour, 46 mins
Amalia. . . María Alche
Josefina. . . Julieta Zylberberg
Helena. . . Mercedes Morán
Dr. Jano........................Carlos Belloso
Parent's guide: R (some sexual content, brief nudity)
Playing at: Ritz East