The Holy Girl

{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2018}} {{Infobox film | name = The Holy Girl | image = holygirlposter.jpg | caption = Theatrical release poster | director = Lucrecia Martel | producer = Lita Stantic | writer = Lucrecia Martel | starring = Mercedes Morán Carlos Belloso Alejandro Urdapilleta María Alche | music = Andres Gerszenzon | cinematography = Félix Monti | editing = Santiago Ricci | studio = El Deseo Lita Stantic Producciones | distributor = Alfa Films (Argentina)<ref name="BOM">{{mojo title|holygirl|The Holy Girl}}</ref> Teodora Film (Italy)<ref name="BOM"/> Wanda Vision (Spain)<ref name=lumiere>{{cite web|title=Film #22266: La niña santa|work=Lumiere|access-date=15 April 2021|url=http://lumiere.obs.coe.int/web/film_info/?id=22266}}</ref> Cinemien (Netherlands)<ref name=lumiere/> | released = {{Film date|df=yes|2004|05|16|Argentina}}<ref name="BOM"/> | runtime = 106 minutes | country = Argentina Italy Spain Netherlands | language = Spanish | budget = }} '''''The Holy Girl''''' ({{langx|es|La niña santa}}) is a 2004 coming-of-age psychological drama film directed by Lucrecia Martel. The film was executively produced by Pedro Almodóvar and features Mercedes Morán, María Alche, Carlos Belloso, Alejandro Urdapilleta, and Julieta Zylberberg.

==Plot== At the Hotel Termas, an Argentine hotel in the small town of Rosario de la Frontera, teenage girls and best friends Amalia and Josefina begin to explore their burgeoning sexuality while being fervently Catholic. Amalia lives with her attractive divorced mother, who owns the hotel, and her uncle Freddy. During this time, in Amalia's mind, spiritual and sexual impulses are getting mixed up with each other.

A medical conference converges at the hotel. One day, in the midst of a large crowd watching the performance of a musician playing the theremin, Dr. Jano, a participant in the conference and hotel guest, rubs up sexually against Amalia. She is upset but takes his inappropriate action as a sign that her Catholic faith has given her a mission: to save Dr. Jano from such inappropriate behavior. Afterward, the married middle-aged doctor becomes the object of Amalia's desire and she begins to spy on him. Amalia's story is partly about an adolescent girl's discovery of her sexual vulnerability and the sexual power she possesses.

== Cast == {{Cast listing| * Mercedes Morán as Helena * Carlos Belloso as Dr. Jano * Alejandro Urdapilleta as Freddy * María Alché as Amalia * Julieta Zylberberg as Josefina * Mía Maestro as Inés * Marta Lubos as Mirta * Arturo Goetz as Dr. Vesalio * Alejo Mango as Dr. Cuesta * Mónica Villa as Madre de Josefina * Leandro Stivelman as Julian * Manuel Schaller as Thermin Player }}

==Background== Writer and director Lucrecia Martel said, "The film isn't strictly autobiographical, but what I put in it is my personal experience in life, my memories. When I was in my teens, I was a very religious person. I thought I had a special relationship with God, or anything that was up there. Now, I don't believe in miracles, but I do believe in the emotion you feel in front of a miracle - the emotion of something unexpected revealed to you."<ref>{{Cite news |date=25 January 2005 |title=Sex and the saintly |work=The Telegraph |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/3635703/Sex-and-the-saintly.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604051358/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/3635703/Sex-and-the-saintly.html |archive-date=June 4, 2011}}</ref>

Martel used few establishing or transition shots in order to physically separate a space from its moment in the film.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Anderson |first=Jeffrey M. |date=April 22, 2005 |title=Interview with Lucrecia Martel: The Nature of Water |url=https://www.combustiblecelluloid.com/interviews/martel.shtml |access-date= |website=Combustible Celluloid}}</ref>

The film was shot entirely in Salta, Argentina, which is Martel's birthplace.<ref name="bfi">{{cite news |last1=Matheou |first1=Demetrios |title=Lucrecia Martel: a catch-up primer on the Argentine's brilliant career to date |url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/lucrecia-martel-profile-zama |access-date=23 March 2023 |work=BFI.org.uk |date=14 May 2018}}</ref>

== Release == The film first opened in Argentina on 6 May 2004.<ref name="BOM" /> It was selected for competition and featured internationally at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival on 16 May.<ref name="festival-cannes.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/4201595/year/2004.html |title=Festival de Cannes: The Holy Girl |accessdate=30 November 2009|work=festival-cannes.com}}</ref>

The film was also shown at various film festivals, including: the Karlovy Vary Film Festival,<ref>{{cite web |title=Holy Girl / La nina santa |url=https://www.kviff.com/en/programme/film/4/1140-the-holy-girl |website=kviff.com |access-date=23 March 2023}}</ref> the Toronto International Film Festival,<ref>{{cite news |title=Mixed Masters, Lost Girls; Front-Loaded Toronto Fest Offers Fewer Masterpieces, More Discoveries |url=https://www.indiewire.com/2004/09/mixed-masters-lost-girls-front-loaded-toronto-fest-offers-fewer-masterpieces-more-discoveries-78646/ |access-date=23 March 2023 |work=IndieWire |date=September 22, 2004}}</ref> the Helsinki International Film Festival, the London Film Festival,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Brooks |first1=Xan |title=The Holy Girl |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2004/oct/22/londonfilmfestival2004.londonfilmfestival |access-date=23 March 2023 |work=The Guardian |date=October 22, 2004}}</ref> the 47th Hong Kong International Film Festival,<ref>{{cite web |title=Hong Kong International Film Festival 47th Edition |url=https://filmitalia.org/en/festival/27035/ |website=filmitalia.org |access-date=23 March 2023}}</ref> and the Reykjavík International Film Festival.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Brooks |first1=Brian |title=Reykjavik Fest Lures Filmmakers to Ambitious Event and Iceland's Remarkable Beauty |url=https://www.indiewire.com/2005/10/reykjavik-fest-lures-filmmakers-to-ambitious-event-and-icelands-remarkable-beauty-77823/ |access-date=23 March 2023 |work=IndieWire |date=October 12, 2005}}</ref>

In the United States it premiered at the New York Film Festival on 10 October 2004,<ref>{{cite web |title=The Holy Girl |url=https://www.filmlinc.org/films/the-holy-girl/ |website=Film at Lincoln Center |access-date=23 March 2023}}</ref> and the Seattle International Film Festival on 20 May 2005.<ref name=mubi>{{cite web |title=The Holy Girl (2004) Awards & Festivals |url=https://mubi.com/films/the-holy-girl/awards |website=mubi.com |access-date=23 March 2023}}</ref> Fine Line Features gave it a limited theatrical release on 29 April 2005.<ref name="BOM" />

==Critical reception== A.O. Scott, film critic for ''The New York Times,'' called the film an "elusive, feverish and altogether amazing second feature..." He also liked Martel's artistic directorial approach to films, and wrote, "Her visual style is similarly oblique, as she frames her characters through half-opened doors, at odd angles and in asymmetrical close-ups. To a degree that is sometimes disorienting, Ms. Martel explores the mysteries of the senses. They are our instruments for knowing ourselves, each other and the world, but they also mislead us, bringing pain, pleasure and confusion in equal measure."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Scott |first=A. O. |author-link=A. O. Scott |date=2004-10-09 |title=The Stirrings of Sensuality for a Pilgrim on the Road |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/09/movies/the-stirrings-of-sensuality-for-a-pilgrim-on-the-road.html |access-date= |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

Kevin Thomas, critic for the ''Los Angeles Times,'' wrote, "[the film] reveals the style, insight and confidence that are the marks of a major director." He also said of director Martel, "[She's] a subtle artist and a sharp observer, Martel manages a large cast with an ease that matches her skill at storytelling, within which psychological insight and social comment flow easily and implicitly."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Thomas |first=Kevin |author-link=Kevin Thomas (film critic) |date=May 13, 2005 |title='The Holy Girl' |work=Los Angeles Times |url=http://www.calendarlive.com/movies/reviews/cl-et-holy13may13%2C0%2C1585545.story |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050526123650/http://www.calendarlive.com/movies/reviews/cl-et-holy13may13,0,1585545.story |archive-date=May 26, 2005}}</ref>

Film critic Ruthe Stein wrote, "Martel is especially good at capturing a claustrophobic environment, and she wisely leaves ambiguous the question of the doctor's complicity in Amalia's frenzied state. He fails to recognize her when she starts stalking him -- an indication of the randomness of the act done to the accompaniment of a theremin."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Stein |first=Ruthe |date=2005-05-13 |title=FILM CLIPS / Also opening today |url=https://www.sfgate.com/movies/article/FILM-CLIPS-Also-opening-today-2671215.php |access-date=2023-03-21 |website=San Francisco Chronicle |language=en-US}}</ref>

The film holds a 77% approval rating at Rotten Tomatoes, based on 62 reviews.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=The Holy Girl |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/holy_girl |access-date=March 21, 2023 |website=Rotten Tomatoes}}</ref> The site's critics consensus reads, "This provocative, lyrical drama mixes themes of forbidden sexuality and redemptive faith with a touch of humanism in a memorable, if disorienting, visual style."<ref name=":0" /> On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 75 out of 100 based on reviews from 22 critics, indicating "generally favorable".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-holy-girl |title=The Holy Girl |website=Metacritic |access-date=March 23, 2023}}</ref>

The film was cited by the film director Urška Djukić as an inspiration for her 2025 film, ''Little Trouble Girls.''<ref>{{Cite web |last=Djukić |first=Urška |date=August 2025 |title=BFI on Instagram: "Director Urška Djukić discusses the films that influenced her" |url=https://www.instagram.com/reel/DN8lcgQDCIm/?hl=en}}</ref>

==Awards== '''Wins''' * Clarin Entertainment Awards: Clarin Award; Best Director, Lucrecia Martel; Best New Film Actress, Julieta Zylberberg; 2004.<ref>{{cite web |title=Five Things You Didn't Know about Lucrecia Martel |url=https://tvovermind.com/five-things-didnt-know-lucrecia-martel/ |website=tvovermind.com |access-date=23 March 2023}}</ref> * São Paulo International Film Festival: Critics Award, Honorable Mention, Lucrecia Martel; 2004.<ref name=mubi/>

'''Nominations''' * Cannes Film Festival: Golden Palm, Lucrecia Martel; 2004.<ref name="festival-cannes.com" /> * Argentine Film Critics Association Awards: Silver Condor; Best Cinematography, Félix Monti; Best Costume Design, Julio Suárez; Best New Actress, María Alche; Best Supporting Actress, Julieta Zylberberg; 2005.<ref name=mubi/>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== * {{IMDb title|0300270|The Holy Girl}} * {{Rotten Tomatoes}} * [http://www.cinenacional.com/peliculas/index.php?pelicula=2522 ''La niña santa''] at cinenacional.com {{in lang|es}} * {{YouTube|ILc19QUijkM|''La niña santa'' film trailer}} {{in lang|es}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holy Girl, The}} Category:2004 films Category:2004 drama films Category:2004 independent films Category:2000s coming-of-age drama films Category:Films directed by Lucrecia Martel Category:Argentine independent films Category:Italian independent films Category:Spanish independent films Category:Dutch independent films Category:El Deseo films Category:Films set in hotels Category:Films about Catholicism Category:Films about religion Category:2004 Argentine films Category:2004 Spanish films Category:2004 Italian films Category:2004 Spanish-language films Category:2004 Dutch films