Joven y Alocada

Living in the American South's Bible Belt, I am deeply familiar with the kind of intense religious bombardment the protagonist experienced -- it's pretty much par for the course for any place or subculture where religious fundies have a grip.

I thought the movie did an EXCELLENT job of portraying this aspect of the film. I thought maybe mother was a WEE bit over the top hateful and intrusive, not that I don't believe mothers like her exist, but that I think the filmmaker missed a big chance of portraying the way kindness can also be used as a tool for psychological manipulation.

The part the filmmaker UTTERLY screwed up was helping us understand the reason for the protagonist's rebellion. Was it adolescent angst, a healthy sexuality growing and rebelling against the repression, or just a healthy human response to the general repressiveness of evangelical beliefs? We have no idea, because the idiot filmmaker just gave us lots of shots of the lead actress looking sullen instead of any meaningful dialog that would have helped us UNDERSTAND the reason for all the sullenness. Of course, there was a lot of dialog with other young people on her blog that MIGHT have been illuminating, but it wasn't. It was just the usual shallow talk of normal teens about sex.

I was hoping for more depth, more insight, than a teen might have about the issues raised in the movie. I didn't get that. A shame, because without it, the movie is a real nothingburger.

Daniela (Alicia Rodriguez) is a 17-year-old girl who had a strict upbringing within her evangelical family. Rebellion and frustration, typical of her age, lead her to live a life based on sexual adventures that are narrated in a blog. One of these adventures is discovered and she is expelled from school. As punishment, her mother (Aline Kuppenheim), imposes that the young woman works on a station that produces gospel programs, where she meets Thomas and Antonia. The relationship with Thomas and Antonia will enhance Daniela's existential questions, also intensifying her individual experiences...

It reminded me a lot of Bruna Surfistinha, despite the objectives being adverse, recently watching "Jovem e Bela" which reports the same jovial compulsion for sex as girls, and I realize how much this is still a great love, who you were with which women they like sex as much as with men, surrounded by taboos, prejudices, and retaliation, highly harmful to young people... Beautiful and crazy film...

This one was a surprise for me. I expect most foreign films to be good, but this one was really different, and make you really engage your brain. First of all, if you don't understand the language, you have to read subtitles, and there's such rapid dialogue, that you have to read fast or you'll miss out. Which means you tend to miss a bit of the visuals, but it can be done without missing too much.

As for the story, it's fascinating, and pretty disturbing, to see the lengths an evangelical family will go to try to keep their daughter from having sex. Let's just say "slut shaming" is taken to an extreme level in this family. You can feel the poor girl's angst; it's not pleasant.

This movie explores the darker side of growing up and trying to find one's place in the world. It's not for prudes or people afraid of human sexuality. 7/10 stars.

Despite the pros and the cons, me, I liked it. Very much! I saw it 3 times, to understand it better. First, I saw the Spanish version on You-tube, without subtitles, and I don't know Spanish perfectly. Very bold and very naturally interpreted by all actors. If you don't like the movie, because you are too puritanical and you will be shocked by the porn scenes, you will definitely like the music, abundant and very beautiful, especially the Spanish version of "Je ne regrette rien" by Edith Piaf, sung by Javiera Mena and the Italian song "No voglio mica la luna" originally performed by Fiordaliso, which became "Yo no te pido la luna", sung by the same Javiera Mena. Me, I'm young and wild even now, at 62.

The film is made beautifully close-up and is high-key almost entirely. It depicts love and sexual troubles of a young woman in a religiously orthodox family.

While the film is very slow, it is pleasant to watch and it will make you feel good.

The film is very bold in nature as it attacks some common taboos present in religious communities around the world, and does it in a wonderfully natural way. You can fully believe characters in the movie are real, as normal life is "boring" in many ways, just as it is depicted in the movie.

Sex scenes are wonderfully made, they are positively beautiful. They look authentic and will make you feel happy and light.

Wholeheartedly recommended.