The Holy Girl [Fiction]
Lucrecia Martel
Argentina, Italy, Netherlands, Spain | 2003 | 106 min
Language : Spanish
Subtitles : French, English
Amalia is feeling the first flutters of adolescence. Raised in a devoutly religious environment, her emerging desires wrestle with her faith. After a sexual assault, she assigns herself the dangerous mission of saving the guilty man from his impulses. The brilliantly directed La niña santa confronts family pressure and class violence, while echoing a sensory awakening.
Minimum legal age 14 years, recommended 16 years and over
Amalia is on the cusp of adolescence. She is feeling its first flutters, which cohabit more or less harmoniously with her faith and her love of God. During a street performance, a stranger, who is residing in the hotel managed by her mother, sexually assaults her in the crowd. Amalia then assigns herself the dangerous mission of saving the guilty man from his impulses, and in doing so, risks her own damnation. La niña santa, the second film in the Salta trilogy, is certainly the one that confronts the religious conservatism of the region in the most head-on manner. Here, Lucrecia Martel addresses the pressure imposed by religion on individuals, in a claustrophobic staging that is reminiscent at times of the horror genre. Not without biting dark humour, she challenges the Church’s moral lead weight as well as the family pressure and class violence exerted on the young Amalia. Amalia’s awakening echoes the sexual tension that is omnipresent in the hotel, the unsettling catalyst of desire and taboo. An intensely sensuous masterpiece of filmmaking, featuring rich sound work, La niña santa was shortlisted for the Cannes Palme d’or in 2014.
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