Small Body

Small Body
Small Body
	Italian theatrical release poster
Italian	Piccolo corpo
Directed by	Laura Samani
Screenplay by	Elisa Dondi; Laura Samani; Marco Borromei [it];
Story by	Laura Samani
Produced by	Nadia Trevisan; Alberto Fasulo [it]; Thomas Lambert; Danijel Hočevar;
Starring	Celeste Cescutti; Ondina Quadri [it];
Cinematography	Mitja Ličen
Edited by	Chiara Dainese
Music by	Fredrika Stahl
Production; companies	Nefertiti Film; Rai Cinema; Tomsa Films; Vertigo;
Distributed by	Istituto Luce
Release dates	10 July 2021 (Cannes); 19 January 2022 (Slovenia); 10 February 2022 (Italy); 16 February 2022 (France);
Running time	89 minutes
Countries	Italy; France; Slovenia;
Languages	Friulian; Venetian;

Small Body (Italian: Piccolo corpo) is a 2021 historical drama film directed by Laura Samani, in her feature film directorial debut,^[1] and written by Samani, Elisa Dondi and Marco Borromei [it] from an original story by Samani.^[2] Set in rural early-20th century Northeast Italy, it follows a peasant mother (Celeste Cescutti) who travels to a sacred island to grant her unbaptised stillborn child access to Heaven, with a feral child (Ondina Quadri [it]) as guide.^[1]^[2]^[3] An Italian-French-Slovenian co-production of Nefertiti Film, Rai Cinema, Tomsa Films, and Vision,^[2] it was shot entirely in Friulian and Venetian language for historical accuracy reasons.^[3]

It had its world premiere at the Critics' Week sidebar of the 74th Cannes Film Festival on 10 July 2021,^[2]^[3] before being released on 19 January 2022 in Slovenia by Vertigo,^[4] on 10 February 2022 in Italy by Istituto Luce,^[5] and on 16 February 2022 in France by Arizona Distribution.^[6] It won various accolades, including a David di Donatello for Best New Director and the European Film Award for the Discovery of the Year.^[7]

Plot

Agata's baby is stillborn. According to Catholic tradition, its soul is condemned to Limbo. When she hears of a church whose priest has the supernatural power to bring a dead child back to life she ventures on a journey with the child in a coffin on her back.

Cast

Celeste Cescutti as Agata^[8]
Ondina Quadri [it] as Lynx (Italian: Lince)^[1]
Marco Geromin as Ingac the Wise
Giacomina Dereani as Lia the Bandit
Anna Pia Bernardis as Hermit
Angelo Mattiussi as Cart Worker
Luca Sera as Island Priest
Teresa Cappellari as Marla the Healer
Marzia Corinna Mainardis as Corinna the Healer
Marisa Rupil as Vanda the Healer
Ivo Ban [sl] as Miner Leader
Denis Corbatto as Agata's Husband
Giovanna Cescutti as Agata's Mother
Cristina Chizzola as Lynx's Mother
Claudia Lodolo as Factory Worker
Lucia Castellano as Assunta
Ilaria Emiliani as Midwife
Alessandro Barbacetto as Cocias the Bandit Leader
Nilla Patrizio as Rite Woman
Emanuela Cicigoi as Miner
Matilda Peruch as Agata's Sister
Federica Muliner as Perpetua
Lisetta Totis as Assistant Midwife
Marco Nogarotto as Caronte the Boatman

Reception

Small Body has an approval rating of 100% on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 17 reviews, and an average rating of 7.7/10.^[9] Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 77 out of 100, based on 6 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".^[10]