The Other Side of Sunday
The actual translation of this Oscar-nominated Norwegian film's original title,Sonntagsengel, is "Sunday Angels," which comes close to reflecting the state of innocence and grace from which the young heroine, Maria, attempts to penetrate adult mysteries in defiance of her father, a priest. The story is set in 1959, and Maria is unhappily lagging behind the rock & roll rebellion of her peers. Her father is severe and arbitrary in his judgments of what's best for her, her mother is in and out of a hospital, and her Sundays are spent in church, allegedly hanging on the old man's every word despite her ever-clarifying atheism. One way out: Find an ally as well as a cautionary figure in a lovely but miserable church servant who wishes she were as free as her true spirit. Directed by Berit Nesheim, the film is most vital during Maria's moments of unspoken yearning and accelerated confidence, giving us a palpable sense of a girl's inner life metamorphosing into womanhood. The rest--family scenes concocted to underscore Dad's own emotional conflicts and tyranny--are much more wooden.--Tom Keogh