Arianna

Ondina Quadri is absolutely fascinating as the title character in "Arianna." Although many of the performances are earnest and nuanced, the camera lingers longest on Arianna's face as Arianna discovers who she has always been.

As bildungsromans go, much of the film is extremely bucolic and starts as the small family unit of Arianna and her parents go on holiday at a house by a lake. The scenery surrounding the house is gorgeous, as are the various trips around the area characters take. The relationships are very believable, the typical happy family of three far away from their regular lives and spending time together just lazing about. There seems to be very little about their lives together that could be alarming or strange, and Arianna's medical issues seem minimal in comparison to her desire to finally achieve womanhood.

It seems like the eternally long summer and her adolescence will never end, as Arianna attempts to connect with her family as well as herself. Of course, there's an interest in a boy that unravels briefly and Arianna, alone, tries to figure out why her expectations of finally growing up are just not matching up to the reality. Somehow, there is something more at play than being a late bloomer. The horror of realizing that one's own body is clearly not normal, although certainly something most teenagers experience, is broadcasted off of her body in various scenes. Without words, Quadri is able to give voice to both fear and anger over having her own choices taken away.

There are frank conversations about sexuality and expectations about achieving maturity, as well as what parents expect and hope for their children. Arianna is strongheaded and independent, but also loving and kind to family members. In interactions amongst Arianna and others, Arianna displays sensitivity and intelligence, frequently with few words. The final reveal is well timed to leave the audience members sitting while the credits are playing, and marveling at everything they didn't understand during the first viewing. I do think this movie is worth seeing more than once: Scenes are pieces of a larger puzzle that doesn't fit together until the very end.