the holy girl

The Holy Girl

a k a La Niña Santa
2004 - Argentina - Drama
Reviewed by A. O. Scott

Critic's Pick

REVIEW SUMMARY
Lucrecia Martel's elusive, feverish and altogether amazing second feature takes place at a provincial Argentine hotel during a conference of otolaryngologists. Amalia (María Alché), a moody teenager whose divorced mother and sad-sack uncle both work at the hotel, is in the throes of adolescent self-discovery. In Amalia's mind and body, spiritual and sexual impulses seem to mingle like molecules forming a volatile compound. The object of her own vocation is Dr. Jano (Carlos Belloso), a participant in the conference. One day, in the midst of a crowd, the doctor rubs up against her, a creepy violation made more so by his morose flirtation with Amalia's mother. Amalia's story is partly about an adolescent girl's simultaneous discovery of her sexual vulnerability and her sexual power, and the themes of power, shame and longing, inflected according to the temperaments and relationships of the characters, ripple quietly through the whole of the film. "The Holy Girl" may occasionally frustrate your desire for clarity and order, but in the end it will reward your patience, and you leave the theater in a state of quiet awe. It is a film that defies categorization, but I'm tempted to call it a miracle. — A. O. Scott, The New York Times