Movie spotlight
Margherita
Sister Margherita is a young Benedictine nun living in the 19th century in an Italian monastery. She had the opportunity to see and touch Jesus Christ and she is in love with him, but for some reason he decided to disappear living her in a mood of anguish and despair. This love for God and the desperate attempt to have him back leads her to a self-destructing behavior: she lays in dirty places surrounded by rats, she whips her back and scream and so on. Her friend, sister Chiara, suggests her to stop behaving like that, to calm down and try to look for God in the harmony of Nature. Sister Margherita accepts her advice and she spent some time in the woods: after a nap she starts hearing scary voices, then she reach a lake and she understand that God himself is calling her.
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Plot Summary
Agata is a young woman training to become a synchronized swimming coach at a sports academy. She is outwardly disciplined and focused on her career, but internally she struggles with her identity and burgeoning sexuality. As she navigates the intense world of competitive sports and her complex relationships with her peers and coaches, she begins to uncover repressed memories and desires that challenge her carefully constructed world.
Critical Reception
Margherita received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised its delicate handling of themes of identity, repression, and burgeoning sexuality within the specific context of a sports academy. Alba Rohrwacher's central performance was widely lauded for its subtlety and emotional depth. Some critics found the pacing deliberate, but most agreed that the film offered a compelling and nuanced character study.
What Reviewers Say
Praised for its sensitive exploration of female identity and sexuality.
Alba Rohrwacher's performance is a standout, conveying internal struggle with quiet intensity.
The film's deliberate pacing and atmospheric approach contribute to its contemplative mood.
Google audience: Audience reception for Margherita is not widely available through Google reviews, making a specific summary difficult to ascertain.
Awards & Accolades
Selected for competition at the 67th Berlin International Film Festival, where it premiered.
Fun Fact
Director Laura Bispuri drew inspiration for the film from her own experiences with synchronized swimming in her youth.
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