MOVIE REVIEW

In this confident drama, a teenager finds that growing up isn't easy at a claustrophobic Argentine hotel.

By Kevin Thomas, Times Staff Writer

With her remarkable second feature, "The Holy Girl," Argentine writer-director Lucrecia Martel charts a potentially calamitous collision between devout faith and budding sexuality within a lovely, naive teenager, Amalia (Maria Alché). A subtle artist and a sharp observer, Martel manages a large cast with an ease that matches her skill at storytelling, within which psychological insight and social comment flow easily and implicitly. In this follow-up to "La Ciénaga," she reveals the style, insight and confidence that are the marks of a major director.

The setting is crucial: a large, somewhat drab hotel in the mountain community of La Ciénaga. There's constant activity in the place, which is owned and run by Amalia's elegant, sensual mother, Helena (Mercedes Morán), and Helena's brother Freddy (Alejandro Urdapilleta). Since Helena is a divorcée and Freddy's wife has returned to Chile with their two children, the two single siblings have forged a deep bond. However, even with Freddy's support, Helena is a very busy woman with a strong public presence in her hotel, which distracts attention from her daughter, who in turn finds plenty of diversion.

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Amalia is caught up in a burst of dubious religious fervor as a large group of otolaryngologists arrive for a medical convention. A musician performs on a theremin as part of a hearing test — or so it would seem — and this draws a large crowd of observers, among them Amalia and the tall, middle-aged and married Dr. Jano (Carlos Belloso), who, despite being a kindly man of much civility, indulges in pressing himself against Amalia as he stands behind her. She is understandably upset but takes his inappropriate behavior as a sign that her faith has at last yielded her a mission, which is to save the doctor from his inappropriate behavior. Whatever salvation she may come up with could of course be a recipe for disaster.

There's a strong aura of claustrophobia compounded by sexual longing captured beautifully by Martel, who never provides the viewer with a good look at the hotel or a sense of its floor plan or even a clear idea of all the activities going on in a particular scene. For much of the film there are a lot of people in the same place at the same time, and such is their proximity — and at times their gestures — that there's a palpable sexual tension coursing throughout the film as the plot gradually thickens. Some viewers are sure to disagree, but the moment when Martel decides to end her film feels oddly right.

'The Holy Girl'

MPAA rating: R for some sexual content and brief nudity

Times guidelines: Mature themes, situations inappropriate for children

An HBO Films and Fine Line Features release Writer-director Lucrecia Mantel. Producer Lita Stantic. Executive producers Pedro Almodóvar, Agustín Almodóvar, Esther García. Cinematographer Felix Monti. Editor Santiago Ricci. Music Andres Gerszenzon. Costumes Julio Suarez. Art director Graciela Oderigo. In Spanish, with English subtitles. Running time: 1 hour, 46 minutes. At selected theaters.