Corpo Celeste
Directed by Alice Rohrwacher
Mixing neo-realism with a touch of Buñuelian satire, Alice Rohrwacher’s assured first feature observes through the eyes of its 13-year-old protagonist how the institutional Catholicism that pervades life in a Calabrian town has become divorced from its spiritual underpinnings. Marta (Yle Vianello), who has just moved to Italy from Switzerland with her mother and older sister, is preparing for her Catholic confirmation while the town readies for a visit from a famous bishop. She approaches the world with a quiet curiosity that is at odds with a community whose social life revolves around the ceremonial trappings of religion, but which lacks any deeper engagement with faith. Vianello is a revelation in the lead role, building a complex character through carefully calibrated expressions and postures, while Rohrwacher draws on her background as a documentary filmmaker to bring to life an entire village, deftly putting into relief the many absurdities of their behavior without reducing them to caricatures. Poignant, nuanced and funny, Corpo Celeste heralds the arrival of a filmmaker to watch.
TRAILER
Italy/Switzerland/France 2011. Written by Alice Rohrwacher. Photographed by Hélène Louvart. With Yle Vianello, Salvatore Cantalupo, Pasqualina Scuncia. In Italian with subtitles. 98 min. Distributed by Film Movement.
Tickets $9 for SFFS members, $11 general, $10 senior/student/disabled. Box office now open online at sffs.org and in person at SF Film Society Cinema.
 | Read the San Francisco Chronicle review "'Corpo Celeste' tells a compelling story of a 12-year-old girl thrust into a strange new world." |
One of the great pleasures of cinema is encountering a film that simultaneously transports the viewer to a different world, while highlighting human feelings – and social conventions – which are universal. Corpo Celeste will strike a chord with anyone whose childhood involved feeling out of place in a new town – or being forced to take part in a cringingly earnest Sunday School performance. —Eye for Film
With echoes of the Dardennes and Lucrecia Martel, Corpo Celeste’s acute sense of place, feel for adolescent confusion and miraculous resolution suggest that Rohrwacher is a talent to watch. —Total Film
The big payoffs arrive in a couple of small, understated moments of grace...thanks to Alice Rohrwacher's restrained buildup and direction, they certainly feel well earned. —Boyd Van Hoeij, Variety
A quietly impressive feature debut. —Lee Marshall, Screen Daily
With echoes of the Dardennes and Lucrecia Martel, Corpo Celeste’s acute sense of place, feel for adolescent confusion and miraculous resolution suggest that Rohrwacher is a talent to watch. —Total Film
The big payoffs arrive in a couple of small, understated moments of grace...thanks to Alice Rohrwacher's restrained buildup and direction, they certainly feel well earned. —Boyd Van Hoeij, Variety
A quietly impressive feature debut. —Lee Marshall, Screen Daily
TRAILER
Italy/Switzerland/France 2011. Written by Alice Rohrwacher. Photographed by Hélène Louvart. With Yle Vianello, Salvatore Cantalupo, Pasqualina Scuncia. In Italian with subtitles. 98 min. Distributed by Film Movement.
Tickets $9 for SFFS members, $11 general, $10 senior/student/disabled. Box office now open online at sffs.org and in person at SF Film Society Cinema.
June 29–July 5
Showtimes 2:30, 4:30, 6:30, 8:30
SF Film Society Cinema
1746 Post Street (Webster/Buchanan)
Showtimes 2:30, 4:30, 6:30, 8:30
SF Film Society Cinema
1746 Post Street (Webster/Buchanan)