Corpo celeste, Alice Rohrwacher, Italy, 2011, 100'

Corpo celeste, Alice Rohrwacher, Italy, 2011, 100'

Martha is 13 years old and, after 10 years with her family in Switzerland, has gone back to live in Reggio Calabria, the city in southern Italy where she was born. Marta is slender, attentive, walks with a slight wobble, and has an unease about her that makes her seem like a wild animal. She sees and hears everything, but doesn't remember much about her childhood in Reggio. The city grew without any order, with its noise, building still under construction, and wind, a sea that appears close but seems impossible to reach. From the concrete emerge the remains of an ancient past, as if here modernity was no more than a thin layer of plastic resting on a world that had never changed. Marta immediately begins a course to prepare for confirmation. She is at the right age, and besides, everyone repeats; a great way to make new friends. At the parish, Marta participates in catechism contests, sings Mi sintonizzo con dio and meets parish priest Don Mario, a solitary, busy, and distant man that runs the church like a small business. One day, as a result of a small accident, Marta leaves the church and finds Don Mario: a few hours drive, a meeting, two solitudes that seem to move closer for a moment before finally moving apart.