Rita is devoted to volunteering long hours to keep her church clean and beautiful. She and a small group in her Argentinian town are competitive in their efforts, but Rita is more competitive than the others. She is an outcast in the group, while the other three women are not as diligent and look down on her. The other love in her life is her husband, Norberto, who works late nights at a local bar. He is also devoted to her and tries to rekindle the flame of their past romance, but she is more interested in doing good work. Rita finds an old statue of Saint Rita, the town’s namesake, in a dusty storeroom. She believes it is the valuable, long-lost statue that has been sought for years. She plans to clean it up and present it to the church, but something goes badly. At this point, Rita enters another dimension and gains some much-needed insight. In her effort to achieve sainthood, she has missed some of the best parts of life.
Chronicles of a Wandering Saint is a sweet movie about a simple, well-intentioned woman who sought the praise and admiration of others and didn’t realize she was enough as she was. The rural setting rings true; the varied friends and neighbors are a humorous addition to Rita’s single-minded pursuit of righteousness. It is a well-directed movie with an unexpected twist.
Director and Writer: Tomas Gomez Bustillo
Starring: Monica Villa as Rita
Pablo Moseinco as Father Eduardo
Iair Said as Lucho
Horacio Marassi as Norberto