Spanish Eyes, Catholic Rites, and a He-Goat

Among the so-called “Black Paintings” that once bedecked the home of Spanish artist Francesco de Goya, the most fearsome might be “Witches’ Sabbath” (1820-23), alternately dubbed “The Great He-Goat.” The titles were applied posthumously and the origins of the imagery remain mysterious. There are no corresponding documents or diaries that attest to the pictures. The historian and critic, Robert Hughes, wrote that “Goya painted them for himself, and himself alone — an audience of one.” A strain of hermeticism supercharges what are already crazed and creepy tableaus.“The Great He-Goat” figures prominently in Ana Asensio’s “Goat Girl,” though we only receive a brief glance of it. Eight-year old Elena (Alessandra González) encounters the picture while visiting the collection of the Prado with her family. How familiar she might have already been with the standing of a he-goat as an otherworldly messenger in Spanish culture isn’t underlined in Ms. Asensio’s screenplay. Still, there is reason to intuit as much given the trepidation Elena exhibits upon encountering the real thing, albeit, in this case, a she-goat.The animal in question, Lola, belongs to Serezade (Juncal Fernández), the youngest member in a troupe of nomadic street performers who have made a desolate courtyard in Madrid their current venue. The buildings surrounding this locale are prole in character and most certainly ugly. Elena lives in a cramped apartment with her mother and father, Pablo (Javier Pereira) and Marisa (Lorena López). Pablo is a taxi driver who works long shifts; Marisa, a hairdresser eager for opportunity. Tight economic circumstances, not least the cost of Elena’s upcoming communion, have the family on edge.Depending on whose opinion you take, their lives are either complicated or enriched by the presence of Marisa’s mother, abuela Elena (Gloria Muñoz). This Elena spends most of her time in bed weak from an unspecified ailment. The older woman and her namesake are tight; it’s the parents, particularly Marisa, with whom the elder Elena butts heads. The younger Elena can, of course, do no wrong with her grandmother. When Elena fumbles a ballet recital, abuela is there to offer comfort and encouragement.All the while, our heroine is distracted by Serezade — her raiment, her attitude and a life led apart from presumed responsibilities. The rest of her days are onerous. Mom and dad are at each other’s throats, school is fraught with bullies and frauds, and the preparatory lessons for First Communion are a drag, particularly given the idiosyncrasies of Padre Carillo (Enrique Villén). Ms. Asensio tips her hand by making the good father a buffoon and a grotesque, with all that implies about the burdensome nature of Catholicism. Who wouldn’t be forgiven for preferring a gypsy’s life?This is especially the case after abuela Elena dies on an otherwise nondescript morning. Her absence falls hard on Elena, so much so that she runs away from home by stowing away in the gypsy caravan. Serezade discovers her only upon reaching a distant campsite. Fearing the wrath of her parents, all parents being equally wrathful, Serezade hides Elena in a distant pen, Lola’s pen. When night falls, Elena and Serezade bond by exploring reaches and encountering strangers that will give even the least helicopterish of parents second thoughts.“Goat Girl” is a lovely, eminently watchable movie that is a mite too pat in its turns and uncertain of its motives. Mses. González and Fernández are remarkable actors, but the tonal context in which they’re placed shifts uneasily between feel-good moralism, anti-clerical smackdown and out-and-out fantasy. It’s as if Ms. Asensio can’t decide if she’d prefer trying to be Walt Disney, Luis Buñuel or Terry Gilliam. The results are likely to leave children a mite boggled, parents a mite bored, and both audiences diverted all the same. A mixed blessing, this picture, but a blessing all the same.

Spanish Eyes, Catholic Rites, and a He-Goat

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