Little Trouble Girls review: Slovenia's Oscar submission is an evocative coming-of-age drama that cuts deep

Urška Djukić's directorial debut which follows a 16-year-old in an all-girls choir features tremendous visual imagery and sound design.

Little Trouble Girls (Kaj ti je deklica)

Cast: Jara Sofija Ostan, Saša Tabaković, Mina Švajger

Director: Urška Djukić

Language: Slovenian

Star rating: ★★★★.5

The coming-of-age genre is fascinating, continually reinventing itself with every passing year, offering a diverse range of experiences within its frame. There's an underlying current of rebellion in it, which I am always curious to locate. In Urška Djukić's Little Trouble Girls, which played at the International Film Festival of Kerala, the rebellion unfolds through vivid and sensual imagery as we follow a Catholic girl's sexual awakening. (Also read: Sound of Falling review: A century of shared grief ties womanhood in this sprawling epic)

Little Trouble Girls is one of the best coming-of-age dramas in recent years.

The premise

The image of a vulva appears at the very beginning of the film, accompanied by breathing exercises in a choir-like performance. It is a striking, tone-setting introduction which immediately catches attention. The imagery hints closer to the journey the film will take alongside its protagonist, the shy 16-year-old Lucia (Jara Sofija Ostan), who is doing quite well at the all-girls choir at her Catholic school. Lucia is drawn to the sexy and fliratious classmate, Ana-Marija (Mina Svajger), who catches her off guard from the very first interaction. As the choirmaster (Sasa Tabakovic) takes them on a weekend retreat at a convent for intensive rehearsals, Lucia starts to unravel under the constant attention of the girls. Lucia keeps to herself, but it is Ana-Marija who pushes her to try and seek things out, to really get what she wants. What if what she desires is a sin? What can she hold on to in those moments of doubt?

Djukić's gaze is never abrasive. It is a world so rich and transfixing, even the walls of the convent seem to speak in whispers. It is a world inhabited by the quiet inquisitiveness of these young girls, as their burgeoning womanhood is set starkly against the strict institutional backdrop. This is not the typical coming-of-age tale of a girl who finds out that she is gay. Djukić, who wrote the script with Maria Bohr, is interested in telling a story about girlhood, about the little revelations and awkward secrets that are never answered by parents or by teachers. We learn, we hear, we take the steps ourselves.

What works

Shot exquisitely by Lev Predan Kowarski, the viewer is set up close up to Lucia, near her eye-level, often watching her as she watches the bodies and faces around her. It is a film brimming with evocative and vivid details, building to a breathtaking single-shot sequence when Lucia is grilled by the choirmaster in front of everyone. She doesn't know what has shifted, but she cannot really confirm any longer. The camera moves closer and closer, confining Lucia in the corner, where she has no escape. Julij Zornik's sound design is essential to the film's feverish impact.

Jara Sofija Ostan is revelatory to watch as the girl caught in this dilemma. She is shy and curious, but also unreadable at times. Lucia's unfamiliarity with matters of sex or male sexual organs (excellently revealed through a Truth or Dare game sequence) is not a good sign, she thinks. This is a performance built on the slightest of shifts, in gestures, resting just on the reactions. Ostan skillfully translates that curiosity on screen, her frame communicating an anguish that only she can touch. The moments of sexual tension, in particular, are beautifully tender without being provocative.

Little Trouble Girls is about the inner world of women; their little desires and giggles. It is about a spiritual vacuum of sorts, when one does not know which way lies the faith. Djukić has made a richly atmospheric and sensual film, one that never fetishises the untangling of Lucia's sexuality. It gives her space and lets her breathe.