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IMDbPro

The Holy Girl

Original title: La niña santa
  • 20042004
  • RR
  • 1h 46m
IMDb RATING
6.7/10
3.9K
YOUR RATING
The Holy Girl (2004)
  • Drama
16-year-old Amalia looks to save the soul of a middle-aged doctor.16-year-old Amalia looks to save the soul of a middle-aged doctor.16-year-old Amalia looks to save the soul of a middle-aged doctor.
IMDb RATING
6.7/10
3.9K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Lucrecia Martel
  • Writers
    • Juan Pablo Domenech(contributing writer)
    • Lucrecia Martel
  • Stars
    • Mercedes Morán
    • Carlos Belloso
    • Alejandro Urdapilleta
Top credits
  • Director
    • Lucrecia Martel
  • Writers
    • Juan Pablo Domenech(contributing writer)
    • Lucrecia Martel
  • Stars
    • Mercedes Morán
    • Carlos Belloso
    • Alejandro Urdapilleta
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 39User reviews
    • 74Critic reviews
    • 75Metascore
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 4 wins & 8 nominations

    Photos15

    Mía Maestro at an event for The Holy Girl (2004)
    Mía Maestro at an event for The Holy Girl (2004)
    Mía Maestro at an event for The Holy Girl (2004)
    Mía Maestro at an event for The Holy Girl (2004)
    Mía Maestro at an event for The Holy Girl (2004)
    Mía Maestro at an event for The Holy Girl (2004)
    Mía Maestro at an event for The Holy Girl (2004)
    The Holy Girl (2004)
    Leandro Stivelman in The Holy Girl (2004)
    María Alche and Julieta Zylberberg in The Holy Girl (2004)
    Carlos Belloso and María Alche in The Holy Girl (2004)
    Carlos Belloso in The Holy Girl (2004)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Mercedes Morán
    Mercedes Morán
    • Helenaas Helena
    Carlos Belloso
    • Dr. Janoas Dr. Jano
    Alejandro Urdapilleta
    • Freddyas Freddy
    María Alche
    • Amaliaas Amalia
    Julieta Zylberberg
    Julieta Zylberberg
    • Josefinaas Josefina
    Mía Maestro
    Mía Maestro
    • Inésas Inés
    Marta Lubos
    • Mirtaas Mirta
    Arturo Goetz
    • Dr. Vesalioas Dr. Vesalio
    Alejo Mango
    • Dr. Cuestaas Dr. Cuesta
    Mónica Villa
    Mónica Villa
    • Madre de Josefinaas Madre de Josefina
    Leandro Stivelman
    • Julianas Julian
    Manuel Schaller
    • Thermin playeras Thermin player
    Miriam Diaz
    • Miriamas Miriam
    Rodolfo Cejas
    • Josefina's fatheras Josefina's father
    Maria Victoria Mosca Coll
    • Local girlas Local girl
    Ornella Velazco
    • Local girlas Local girl
    Guadalupe Pardo Hernandez
    • Local girlas Local girl
    Ana Carolina Beltrán
    • Local girlas Local girl
    • (as Ana Carolina Beltran)
    • Director
      • Lucrecia Martel
    • Writers
      • Juan Pablo Domenech(contributing writer)
      • Lucrecia Martel
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      'La niña santa' (The Holy Girl) stars María Alché and is directed by Lucrecia Martel. Both Maria and Lucrecia graduated from the same film school, ENERC.
    • Connections
      Featured in Women Make Film: A New Road Movie Through Cinema (2018)
    • Soundtracks
      Cara de Gitana
      Written by AMRI / Justiniano Orquera / Rubén Lotes

      Performed by Daniel Magal

    User reviews39

    Review
    Top review
    9/10
    An other opinion...La Niña Santa: shades of Kieslowski
    La Niña Santa is one of the smartest, sexiest, tenderest, funniest, quiet-and-unassuming movies I've seen in the last half dozen years. It delivers a velvet glove, emotional coup-de-grace (despite the diminuendo ending), and for precisely the reasons the other reviewer adjudged it 'one of the worst movies' she'd ever seen. Isn't curious how we all differ?; the screenplay is intelligent without being smart-alec, nuanced in the most tender of manners, and slyly humorous. Yes, it takes 13 minutes, or more, to figure out what's what and that is only one of the film's glories. What may seem like amateurish framing is clearly a masterful use of the camera in a sensual-naturalistic mode. Its hard to believe this is writer-director's (Lucrecia Martel) second feature film; there is an understated command of all the elements of cinema that reminds one of Kieslowski (and the brothers Dardenne; Truffaut); and perhaps that is another reason the film has elicited strong reaction.

    The Kieslowski reference is not casual, for the theme of the film is the subtle palpitations of the heart, in particular feminine desire, conjoined with a moral dilemma. Much of the plot focuses on Amalia, the teenage daughter of Helena, a sophisticated divorcée who runs a hot-springs resort where a doctor's conference is being held. Dr. Jano, the third protagonist, takes a somewhat perverse fancy to Amalia, 'casually' rubbing himself up against her in a crowd on the street packed around a man performing on a theremin. This incident (which is reprised) in conjunction with Amalia's religious - 'what is our vocation in God?' - instruction (also reprised) serves to awaken Amalia's desire in, what to her, is a disturbing and profound manner: she conceives that she has been given a 'sign' of her vocation to save the soul of this anonymous man.

    Complications arise, mostly for Dr. Jano, when he meets Helena in the hotel bar and falls gently into the perfume of their mutual attraction. Amalia keeps following him, haunting him in a way he is not comfortable with, all the while he is being drawn to Helena and she to him. Slowly it dawns on him that Amalia is Helena's daughter and he realizes, but he alone, that he is caught in a moral bind.

    One of the supreme glories of this story is the tender way in which the group of teenage girls, Amalia and her friends, are represented (again this reminds one of Kieslowski, the brothers Dardenne, Truffaut). They are seen to be curious and critical-skeptical, naive and wise, awakening to a world of desire about which they are 'technically' ignorant and innocent. María Alche as Amalia, has a face and a presence that is at once homely and luminous. It is so rare, and so moving, to encounter a story in which the dilemmas of teenagers are given as much credence as adults, treated by the story-teller (both script and camera) with respect, compassion, love, and understanding; and this is even more rare, I think, when it concerns teenage girls. If you love women, whatever your gender, you might just fall in love with La Niña Santa.

    A revelation; Lucrecia Martel (writer-director) is clearly a new and major point of reference on the world cinematic horizon.
    helpful•16
    4
    • colman-hogan
    • Apr 11, 2006

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • May 6, 2004 (Argentina)
    • Countries of origin
      • Argentina
      • Italy
      • Netherlands
      • Spain
    • Official sites
      • Official site [ar
      • Official site (Argentina)
    • Language
      • Spanish
    • Also known as
      • Свята дівчина
    • Filming locations
      • Salta, Argentina
    • Production companies
      • La Pasionaria S.r.l.
      • R&C Produzioni
      • Teodora Film
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $1,400,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $304,124
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $28,327
      • May 1, 2005
    • Gross worldwide
      • $1,261,792
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 46 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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