I’m kicking off 2023 by trying to watch and review one movie every day for the first 90 days, all of which will be 90 minutes or less.
Title: Le Pupille
Release Date: May 27, 2022
Director: Alice Rohrwacher
Production Company: Esperanto Filmoj
Summary/Review:
It’s Christmas time at a Catholic boarding school for girls in Italy during World War II. Some girls have returned to be with their families, but the orphan children remain under arbitrary and authoritarian rule of the Mother Superior (Alba Rohrwacher). Serafina (Melissa Falasconi) is the shy, outsider of the group. After an incident the Mother Superior declares that Serafina is a “bad girl.” Serafina internalizes this leading to a delicious twist in this film’s climax
This short movie is shot on a warm, grainy film that makes it feel like it’s from another era. It’s full of imagery that borders on the absurd and surreal. The title works as a pun, both “pupils” as the term for students as well as the center of the eye. Many close-ups on the girls’ eyes reveal their inner intentions even as outwardly they obey the sisters’ instructions. All in all its a fun and mischievous little movie, and stylistically different from a lot of the other content on Disney+.
Rating: ***
Panorama of the Mountains 