Goat Girl (dir. Ana Asensio)
By: Adam Freed
The world can be a confusing place at eight years-old. At that age, life feels more like something that just happens, rather than an activity that is mutually agreed upon. For Elena, a native of Madrid growing up in the late 80’s, her formative years are far more complicated than expected in writer and director Ana Asensio’s Spanish language drama La niña de la cabra (Goat Girl). Goat Girl is a gorgeously rendered and deeply personal story that follows the young Elena, almost exclusively, through moments of great struggle and, just as often, perseverance, as she learns to navigate life in the Spanish capital city.
Asensio proves to have a preternatural sense for allowing her audience to absorb that which Elena is experiencing. The gifted director dispenses with heavy-handed exposition in favor of allowing her protagonist to imbibe the world with the patient wonder of a child. Elena is embodied delightfully by Alessandra González, a promising young performer in her screen debut. What sparkles in González’s performance is the patience and realistic wonder that she gifts her character. Goat Girl explores a number of thematic paths, but none more clearly than the introduction of Catholicism into Elena’s life. These practices are primarily dispensed by Padre Carillo, a physically memorable man of the cloth who represents the hard line that the world is drawing for Elena, one that she is yet to decide she wants to follow. Carillo, played by Spanish screen veteran Enrique Villén (30 Coins) is only one of the significant supporting characters in Asensio’s dramatic film that shapes Elena’s path.
Shortly after the death of her beloved grandmother, Elena, feeling untethered from her mother and father as they squabble over financial stress, befriends a Roma girl named Serezade. For reasons unknown to the young heroine, she is forbidden to play with her new ethnically diverse friend, a first taste of racism in Elena’s rapidly expanding understanding of time and place. It is through her relationship with Serezade, one that comes free of judgement or condemnation, that Elena learns what the warm embrace of true friendship feels like, and in turn learns the importance of genuine human connection. Ana Asensio packs a great deal into her contained period piece film. From the director’s explorations of religion, race, grief, friendship and free will, Goat Girl is a potent film worthy of exploration.
Target Score 8.5/10 - La niña de la cabra (Goat Girl) is an understated, yet resounding ode to the undeniable significance of childhood. Told from the perspective of eight year-old Elena, Ana Asensio’s Spanish language drama is as patient as it is profound. Rarely do dramatic films accomplish such subtle character dynamism with so little panache, a testament to Asensio’s gift as a storyteller.