80
It's a marvelously acted film, driven by a sweaty-palmed, exponentially mounting tension.
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75
Philadelphia Inquirer by Carrie Rickey
A film that leaves cinephiles breathless and the mainstream movie maniacs scratching their heads.
90
The New York Times by Dana Stevens
The Holy Girl may occasionally frustrate your desire for clarity and order, but in the end it will reward your patience, and you leave the theater in a state of quiet awe.
70
A mystifying film that holds the audience in suspense over where it's going and what it might mean for almost its entire running time.
80
Not the least remarkable thing about this deadpan, deceptively haphazard ensemble comedy, a movie as much choreographed as directed, is the way that--at the final moment--the mist simply evaporates.
63
New York Daily News by Jack Mathews
Alche has an amazingly expressive face and becomes such a magnetic presence that you'll feel a distinct need to rescue her.
91
Entertainment Weekly by Lisa Schwarzbaum
The blessings of salvation have rarely felt so mixed, the parameters of Lolita-hood so elusive - which is exactly Martel's specialty.
40
TV Guide Magazine by Maitland McDonagh
In stripping her potentially lurid material of salacious appeal, Martel also makes it murky and oddly arid, a mind-numbing exercise rather than an experience.
80
It's a style at once ravishing and mysterious, austere and intimate, carrying with it the suggestion that even cinema may be powerless to invade the most clandestine antechambers of human behavior.
75
The Holy Girl ends without resolution, but one isn't needed in this mature, thoughtful drama.