Sworn Virgin

Released Apr 22, 2016

1 hr. 27 min.

Drama

LGBTQ+

List

71%

17 Reviews

Tomatometer

54%

50+ Ratings

Audience Score

After posing as a man for 14 years, a woman (Alba Rohrwacher) travels from Albania to Italy to reconnect with her estranged sister (Flonja Kodheli) and reclaim her sexual identity.

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Audience Member

When a woman can't be a woman.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/19/23

Full Review

Audience Member

cinegeek.de Eine verschneite Berglandschaft wie aus einer Zeit, bevor es so etwas wie Industrialisierung gab. Ein Fährboot bringt die junge Frau aus dem Gebirge in eine andere Welt. Sie klingelt an der Tür einer Etagenwohnung, offenbahr unangemeldet. Die Angereiste, die sich "Mark" nennt, wird wenig freudig aufgenommen und tut auch nichts dafür, das Verhältnis zu entspannen. Wir lernen durch Rückblenden, dass wir es mit Adoptivschwestern zu tun haben, die während der Kindheit sehr verbunden waren, sich aber dann voneinander entfremdeten. Beide entstammen aus einer archaischen Welt, in welcher der Vater der Braut dem Bräutigam ein Gewehr zur Hochzeit schenkt (falls sie nicht spurt). Lila flüchtete aus dieser Welt, aus Albanien, nach Italien. Hana/Mark, noch ledig, übernahm nach altem Brauch selbst die Männerrolle. Mark hat jetzt sein eigenes Gewehr und lebt wie im Zölibat. Die italienische Regisseurin Laura Bispuri hat sich mit ihrem Debüt dieser fremden Welt angenommen. Die Geschichte reicht von der Kindheit bis zur Wiederannäherung, wobei der Kontrast des kargen Lebens in der Wildnis und der sterilen Einkaufszentren der "Zivilisation" überdeutlich gezeichnet wird. Am reizvollsten ist Marks Entwicklung aus verinnerlichten Zwängen heraus zur persönlichen Freiheit. Mark wird gespielt von Alba Rohrbacher, die eine der tollsten Schauspielerinnen Italiens ist! Zum Glück mündet ihre spröde Schönheit am Ende nicht in Dekoltee und Pfennigabsätzen! Ein kleiner Arthaus Film zum Entdecken!

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Beautifully made and deeply touching film.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/22/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I saw this at the 2015 London Film Festival. An amazing movie, unique. Was privileged to have Laura Bispuri at the screening, the Q and Q with her was fascinating.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/22/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I found the film original and poetic, though, due to it's commitment to cultural authenticity, it was occasionally difficult to follow. Still, visually it was compelling, and the acting was superb. Now that I've understood the cultural context, I would say that it's a serious, original, and beautiful film.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/12/23

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Laura Bispuri

Director

Alba Rohrwacher

Hana

Flonja Kodheli

Lila

Luan Jaha

Stjefen

Emily Ferratello

Jonida

Lars Eidinger

Bernhard

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Justin Chang

Los Angeles Times

Skipping deftly between time frames while keeping her camera close to her protagonist - played with tremulous understatement by the remarkable actress Alba Rohrwacher - Bispuri traces a journey of delicate interior shifts and reversals.

Apr 28, 2016

Full Review

Joshua Rothkopf

Time Out

Even though Rohrwacher never quite passes -- she looks too much like Barbra Streisand's Yentl -- the movie is on to a larger point, namely about the fluidity of sexual identity and our universal penchant for self-reinvention

Rated: 4/5

Apr 22, 2016

Full Review

Godfrey Cheshire

RogerEbert.com

The film obliges viewers to puzzle out the nature of the sworn virgin tradition, and even at the tale's end, it may not be clear. This can only be counted a virtue by those who count obscurity and bafflement as artistic assets.

Rated: 2/4

Apr 22, 2016

Full Review

Nathanael Hood

Screen Comment

...it nevertheless deflates Hana's journey of emotional weight.

Rated: 4/10

Dec 27, 2018

Full Review

Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat

Spirituality & Practice

A slow-moving and meditative drama about a young Albanian woman's transgender journey living as a man.

Rated: 3.5/5

Jul 22, 2016

Full Review

Michael Snydel

The Film Stage

Bispuri's feature debut makes a powerful statement about the suffocation that can come with gender norms, and about the double-edged sword of gender performance.

Rated: B+

Apr 25, 2016

Full Review

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Synopsis

After posing as a man for 14 years, a woman (Alba Rohrwacher) travels from Albania to Italy to reconnect with her estranged sister (Flonja Kodheli) and reclaim her sexual identity.

Director: Laura Bispuri
Executive Producer: James Velaise, Alessio Lazzareschi, Jamal Zeinal Zade
Screenwriter: Laura Bispuri, Francesca Manieri
Distributor: Strand Releasing
Production Co: Colorado Film, RAI Cinema
Genre: Drama, LGBTQ+
Original Language: Albanian
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 22, 2016, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 12, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $4.6K
Sound Mix: Dolby

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