Corpo Celeste (2012)

Upon returning to her native Italy from Switzerland, Rita(Anita Caprioli) decides it is time for her younger daughter Marta(Yle Vianello) to go to religion classes by starting at the end with her confirmation. As an introduction, the family goes on a nighttime pilgrimage, followed by a religious demonstration where Father Mario's(Salvatore Cantalupo) cell phone goes off at the worst possible moment. Otherwise, Marta leads a normal life of a girl not quite 13 as she hogs the bathroom, borrows her older sister Rosa's(Maria Luisa de Crescenzo) clothing, has a finicky diet and does some of the cooking. Ok, so that last part is not so normal... I think what "Corpo Celeste" desperately wants to be about is a girl's coming of age, both intellectually and physically, but can't stay focused long enough, as it gets distracted by the smallest detail.(Oh, look! It's a cat!) That interferes with any chance of seeing the world through Marta's eyes. At this point, it is filled with religion but the movie does not have sharp enough satirical teeth for the task at hand. Look, I know religion can be a really prickly subject but you still have to know what you want to say. Is it that the Church has gotten so far away from its teachings(trust me on this, somebody will remember and that person might be Marta) that it has become just another pageant or does it have to become showy to stay relevant in the modern age? Make up your mind.