La niña santa (2004)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Lucrecia Martel

Writers:

Juan Pablo Domenech (contributing writer)
Lucrecia Martel (written by)

Release Date:

6 May 2004 (Argentina)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

16-year-old Amalia (Alche) looks to save the soul a middle-aged doctor (Belloso).

Plot Keywords:

Hotel | Teen | Doctor | Lesbian Kiss | Schoolgirl Crush

Awards:

3 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Mercedes Morán	...	Helena
Carlos Belloso	...	Dr. Jano
Alejandro Urdapilleta	...	Freddy
María Alche	...	Amalia
Julieta Zylberberg	...	Josefina
Mía Maestro	...	Inés
Marta Lubos	...	Mirta
Arturo Goetz	...	Dr. Vesalio
Alejo Mango	...	Dr. Cuesta
Mónica Villa	...	Madre de Josefina
Leandro Stivelman	...	Julian
Manuel Schaller	...	Thermin player
Miriam Diaz	...	Miriam
Rodolfo Cejas	...	Josefina's father
Maria Victoria Mosca Coll	...	Local girl

Also Known As:

The Holy Girl (International: English title) (USA)
La niña santa (Spain)
La niña santa - La piccola santa (Italy)

MPAA:

Rated R for some sexual content and brief nudity.

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

Argentina | Italy | Netherlands | Spain

Language:

Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Netherlands:12 | Austria:12 | Belgium:KT | Canada:PG | Italy:T | USA:R (certificate #41466) | Spain:13 | Argentina:13 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | France:U | UK:15 | Brazil:14

Filming Locations:

Salta, Argentina

Company:

La Pasionaria S.r.l.

Soundtrack:

Cara de Gitana

Evocative Portrayal of Teen Girls Obsessions vs. Adults

"The Holy Girl (La Niña santa)" effectively captures the obsessive, all-consuming passions of adolescent girls, like an Argentinian "Thirteen" suffused by Catholicism instead of California pop culture.

Young teens are shown exploring their faith as equally as their bodies and the new found power of their sexuality, as a religious instructor, Mía Maestro of TV's "Alias" protectively, and finally impatiently, tries to channel their avidity into becoming a nun.

But one of the girls comes into contact with the panoply of the perfidy of adults in an intriguing situation, as part of the family of resident managers of a resort hotel. The film focuses on the week when a medical convention brings partying doctors into her and her mother's sights.

Writer/director Lucrecia Martel adds an interesting element, recalling but much less brutally than "Blue Car" and "Fat Girl (a ma soeur)," when an older abuser crosses paths with the curious adolescent. Ironically, here he is a nondescript, middle-aged husband and father but he gets off on anonymous rubbing up in crowds (which is eerily accompanied by a street musician playing the spooky-sounding theremin), that she confuses for more direct attention into what she transfers as her religious "mission" (at least that's how it's translated).

The parallel story with the flirtatious mother is less convincing, even with some sort of jealous motivation because her ex's young trophy wife is now pregnant and her boredom with some sort of ongoing, casual relationship she has with another hotel employee.

The film ends on an oddly sympathetic note for the fetishist as his needed anonymity is gradually lost over the course of the week, with a negative view of the teenage girls as they manipulatively deflect adult notice from their experiments.

The English subtitles are very awkwardly translated. Some of the English words have a disjointed connotation and are downright confusing.

The cinematography is very lush and warm, reflecting the girls' overheated emotions.