| Photos (see all 8 | slideshow) | Videos |
| 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 | |
| Ornella Velazco | ... | Local girl | |
| Guadalupe Pardo Hernandez | ... | Local girl | |
| Ana Carolina Beltran | ... | Local girl | |
| Rodolfo Cabrera | ... | Manuel the plumber | |
| Maria Susana Falcon | ... | Josefina's aunt | |
| Guillermo Enrique Castro | ... | Lad in accident | |
| Victor Anuch | ... | Juan Pablo | |
| Sebastian Diaz Sabala | ... | Juan Pablo's friend | |
| Maria Micol Ellero | ... | Josefina's sister | |
| Sebastián Montagna | ... | Josefina's brother | |
| Maria Emilia Martinez | ... | Josefina's sister | |
| Guido Nunez | ... | Medical consultant | |
| Nilda Silvia Suarez | ... | Photocopier woman | |
| Ana Maria Fernandez | ... | Jano's wife | |
| Carlos Silvio Poma | ... | Dr. Lara | |
| Eduardo Jesus Chaig | ... | Doctor | |
| Juan Solis | ... | Doctor | |
| Roberto Bernacki | ... | Doctor | |
| Oscar Victoriano Sarmiento | ... | Doctor | |
| David Daniel Torino | ... | Doctor | |
| Eliana Santillan | ... | Servant | |
| Alejandro Leonidas Diaz | ... | Pool worker | |
| Florinda Rosa Guamante | ... | Caretaker | |
| David Mansilla | ... | Hotel porter | |
| Pablo Arias | ... | Hotel porter | |
| Marcos Reynoso | ... | Phone assistant |
Directed by | |||
| Lucrecia Martel | |||
Writing credits(in alphabetical order) | ||
| Juan Pablo Domenech | contributing writer | |
| Lucrecia Martel | written by | |
Original Music by | |||
| Andres Gerszenzon | |||
Cinematography by | |||
| Félix Monti | |||
Film Editing by | |||
| Santiago Ricci | |||
Casting by | |||
| Nicolas Levin | |||
| Natalia Smirnoff | |||
Art Direction by | |||
| Graciela Oderigo | |||
Set Decoration by | |||
| Fernando Brun | |||
Costume Design by | |||
| Julio Suárez | |||
Makeup Department | |||
| Marisa Amenta | .... | makeup artist | |
| Marcelo Iúdice | .... | hair stylist | |
| Etelvina Veron | .... | hair stylist | |
Production Management | |||
| Matías Mosteirín | .... | production director | |
| Marta Parga | .... | production manager | |
| Marta Parga | .... | production supervisor | |
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director | |||
| Florencia Blanco | .... | assistant director | |
| Natalia Smirnoff | .... | assistant director | |
| Fabiana Tiscornia | .... | assistant director | |
Art Department | |||
| Alvear Angelica | .... | set dresser | |
| Martín Libert | .... | property master | |
Sound Department | |||
| Guido Berenblum | .... | sound | |
| Marcos De Aguirre | .... | sound | |
| David Miranda | .... | sound | |
| Victor Alejandro Tendler | .... | sound | |
Visual Effects by | |||
| Sergio Rentero | .... | visual effects supervisor | |
| Rodrigo S. Tomasso | .... | digital restoration (uncredited) | |
Camera and Electrical Department | |||
| Lucas Guidalevich | .... | film recorder operator: Cineon | |
| Daniel Hermo | .... | gaffer | |
| Manuel Rebella | .... | electrician | |
| Victor Vasini | .... | film recorder operator: Cineon | |
Other crew | |||
| Gustavo Guido | .... | production assistant | |
| Carola Jalife | .... | continuity | |
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| Mysterious Skin | Maurice | The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne | Giant | The Aviator |
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| Full cast and crew | Company credits | External reviews |
| News articles | IMDb Drama section | IMDb Argentina section |
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More admirable than attractive is Lucrecia Martel's "The Holy Girl" even at this time I am feeling a steady amount of ambivalence toward this maddeningly beautiful film. Is this kind of paradoxical relationship even possible? Even the proverbial sinner in his love/hate toward expiation seems dubious.
The film follows Amalia and her friend Josefina's exploits as they navigate their way through a summer of adolescence. Sanctimonious doesn't even begin to describe them indeed, Amalia is wanting to screw a man she's trying to "save" while Josefina regards her Catholic school teacher with disdain due to the good teacher's sexual adventures even though Josefina herself takes it up the arse from her horny boyfriend. This shopworn irony regarding the duality and dialectical impulses in hormonal, affectedly pious people grows wearisome on the attention span.
Okay, but I used the adjective "beautiful" earlier. And it most certainly is from a logistical standpoint. The DP composed seemingly interminable, achingly gorgeous shots of the action. He had no qualms about not using deep-focus photography (in which everything in the frame is in focus). This style harks back to the old American B&W's in which they were not afraid to focus on only one piece of the frame while leaving the rest in a blurry discombobulation. A power erupts from the screen the more pronounced these shots are. However, it must be said, the steady frequency of all this becomes stultifying to an annoying degree like chocolate in endless supply, it becomes too much of a good thing.
This cloying film would have been great if it didn't try so hard to be a great film. Art house flicks mostly subscribe to an overly snobby and abundantly complex ideological schema. Is a show-off praiseworthy? Not in this case.