Italian writer-director Alice Rohrwacher’s dreamy, mysterious debut – the title translates as “heavenly body” – charts the coming-of-age of restless 13-year-old Marta (Yle Vianello).
Preparing for her catechism in wintry Reggio Calabria, having spent most of her life in Switzerland, she discovers that the priest (Salvatore Cantalupo) is more preoccupied with local politics than matters spiritual.
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.
