On Top of the Cliff

In 1950s Lima, a Catholic girls’ boarding school clings to a cliff above the Pacific Ocean. Ana, 16, pursues holiness obsessively, secretly mortifying her body. When Rebecca, a rebellious foreigner, arrives at the school, Ana’s leadership starts to crack. As fascination turns into jealousy and desire clashes with faith, discipline takes on a dangerous charge.

The convent’s microcosm begins to reveal a world the walls of faith cannot contain – caught between Ana’s fervour and tales of the outside world Rebecca brings in.

Exploring the ambivalence at the heart of female adolescence, director Enrique Pérez immerses us in a feverish chamber of uniforms, rituals, and corridors full of unspoken words. Positioning the camera at a respectful distance, he allows us to witness – with the surprise and furtiveness of a voyeur – a seemingly placid existence with sea views. But the teenage transition into womanhood becomes a thriller in which holiness and desire stare at each other across the precipice. Could the fences of religion confine a body eager for discovery?

Javier Garcia Puerto