Sacred Body

This film (drama)Also known asCorpo Celeste，is aItaly, Switzerland, FranceProducerwomen sex，At2011Released in year 。The dialogue language isItalian，Current Douban rating7.5(For reference only)。

A 2011 Italian drama masterpiece, part of the Directors' Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival, and winner of the Jury Special Prize at the Écrans Junior Film Festival. The film captures a young girl's inner struggles through an almost documentary-style approach. 　　Thirteen-year-old Marta lives deep in southern Italy. After spending 10 years in Switzerland, she is now trying to adjust to life back in Italy. With her bright, large eyes, she often feels anxious and afraid. She uses all her senses to experience the city—she sees, she hears, she feels—yet she feels like an outsider. 　　Marta is about to undergo her baptism ceremony at the local Catholic church. According to Catholic doctrine, she must understand the contents of the catechism and follow it as her code of conduct. However, at this critical moment, Marta clashes with her mother, sister, and school teacher. After experiencing some events, she decides to cut her hair and start a new life. 　　From this moment on, Marta finally feels that she has truly "lived" since returning to Italy. 　　One-sentence Review 　　Perhaps the only mistake the director made was neglecting the protagonist's perspective and character. However, when viewed through the lens of documentary aesthetics, this is not a significant flaw, but rather a compromise made by the director in practicing documentary aesthetics. — Daily Screen 　　A simple and casual story with a distant and intimate visual language. This is a very standard European art film. Only a small portion of cinephiles may appreciate it. — Variety Magazine 　　It can be said that this is a film entirely created following the tenets of realism. It explores themes of faith and growth, enhanced by some symbolic elements, making the film quite engaging. — Hollywood Reporter 　　Behind the Scenes 　　The film was shot in the small southern Italian town of Reggio Calabria, where the location appears dirty, poor, and disconnected from modern society. Director Alice Rohrwacher discovered this place while making documentaries. She stated, "Here, children need to pick up trash to survive. I love this place, so I decided to film 'The Sacred Body' here. It feels very real and truly reflects the contradictions of all Italy: beneath the beautiful scenery, people are restless due to the process of modernization. The characteristics of this city exemplify the restlessness of Italy." 　　The film tells a story of self-discovery against the backdrop of themes of loss and religion. In fact, Rohrwacher did not initially plan to focus on loss as a theme. She said, "The whole film is based on my investigations and did not start with the theme of loss. While researching, I found that almost everyone in a community is lost. So I created the character Marta to embody this loss, seeking her rightful place in the vast world." The film contains many critiques of religion, suggesting Rohrwacher has strong opinions. In the film, Father Mario is indifferent to the faith, problems, and struggles of the believers; he only cares about his "career." Rohrwacher remarked, "In today's Italy, this is a very common phenomenon, and the character Mario is based on reality. Many priests appear to be engaged in religious work, but have essentially become devotees of power. Their work centers on building churches, thinking about promotions, and how to grow their congregations to bolster their own power. They never teach people how to have faith, only insisting they memorize the catechism and pray. This goes against true religion." 　　Director Alice Rohrwacher was a documentary filmmaker before making this movie, so the film inevitably carries a documentary quality. From the visuals to the story, and from the editing to the atmosphere, "The Sacred Body" is closer to documentary than a feature film. Particularly in its portrayal of Marta’s life and choices, the depiction is both calm and harsh; the camera seems to act merely as an observer, responsible only for recording events, not for evaluating them. When discussing this visual language, it is essential to mention the film's cinematographer Hélène Louvart. This outstanding cinematographer's previous work is Wim Wenders' documentary "Pina." Reflecting on Louvart, Rohrwacher said, "We collaborated very smoothly; she quickly grasped what I wanted, as if without much effort, she met my demands. Both of us are advocates of simplicity in work. This is how we crafted the film's visual effects to be so remarkable. Overall, the film focuses on spiritual elements; spiritual thoughts are not as ethereal as some might think. Some believe spiritual content is illusory, but in fact, the spiritual is practical, real, and rooted deep within. This is the meaning behind the film's title 'The Sacred Body.' The celestial bodies in the universe seem ethereal and intangible, yet they exist for real, having existed for thousands or millions of years. This parallels the intangible yet very real characteristics of the spiritual."