Finally, after so many years of work, Monica Villa has a leading role in the cinema. He attracted attention in “The passengers of the garden” (Alejandro Doria)1982), putting faces behind a good-natured woman who was surprised at not being able to find a baguette like the ones she ate in Paris anywhere, and achieved popularity as the long-suffering daughter-in-law of Mama Cora in “Waiting for the hearse” (also Doria1985).
Since then, the public has celebrated every appearance of hers. But she has always played supporting roles, sometimes too brief. She has been required Alejandro Doria (those two and the list goes on), Desanzo, Vieyra, Renan, Babenco, Bemberg, Martel, Giralt, Szifron, Loreti, until Zaidelis in “Extortion”where she plays a certain Rita Tirabosco. But she was missing a leading role, which now comes with another Rita, and another apparition, this time that of Saint Rita, patron saint of the impossible and of suffering women.
This is what happens in “Chronicles of a wandering saint”set in a quiet little town in our vast pampas. There, some women amuse themselves by cleaning the parish church, then they pray the rosary together, but one of them, Rita, more obsessed with cleanliness, is hiding something.
When she finds the statue of Saint Rita, which was thought to be lost, piled up among the junk in a corner, she comes up with a plan to make it reappear as if by a miracle and make herself famous in the town. Her husband helps her. He is simply looking for another kind of miracle, something that will make him recover his lost love, but she is busy with other things.
The plan is set in motion, until a dog gets in the way and the woman flies away, but not exactly like the saint. And there, halfway through the film, the final credits roll! It’s not a mistake, the film of this village woman’s life has simply ended. Now the other part follows.
A young devil appears on a bicycle, very respectful, then a boy in shorts and an angelic halo, with a report from the Heaven Selection Committee on the computer, offering the favored one the Express Combo, or, if she dares, the Premium Combo, night falls, what Don Bluth said is confirmed, all dogs go to heaven, and another offer appears, through a light bulb and a moth, as well as a nosy neighbor, a legend refuter, as Dolina would say.
But could it be possible, perhaps, that in these circumstances the miracle of love that her husband was hoping for could come true? Do miracles exist, even if they come late?
Slow-paced, melancholic, very original, with a muted sense of humor, always in mid-tones as befits a story about grown-ups in a small town, and with Mónica Villa in full bloom, “Chronicles of a Wandering Saint” also has a precise cast, beautiful photography, and the soft sound of a piano enveloping the story.
Director, Thomas Gomez Bustillo. This is his first work, let’s hope he continues. Filming in Antonio CardoniLobos district, a town of only 295 inhabitants waiting in vain for another kind of miracle: that the train will once again pass through the station. But that is another story.
“Chronicles of a Wandering Saint” (Argentina-USA, 2023); Dir.: Tomás Gómez Bustillo; Int.: Monica Villa, Horacio Marassi, Iair Said.
Source: Ambito
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
