Little Trouble Girls (Blu-ray Review)
Director
Urška DjukićRelease Date(s)
2025 (March 10, 2026)Studio(s)
SPOK Films/Staragara/365 Films/Non-Aligned Films/Nosorogi/OINK (Kino Lorber)- Film/Program Grade: A+
- Video Grade: A
- Audio Grade: A
- Extras Grade: C-
Review
Lucija (Jara Sofija Ostan) is a shy 16-year-old “new girl” at a strict Slovenian Catholic girl’s school choral group. Ana-Marija (Mina Švajger) is the popular “queen bee” of the choir who lets Lucija into her clique thanks to a meet cute involving some French lipstick sent by her aunt. The choir is attending an annual rehearsal for a week at a picturesque nunnery in Cividale del Friuli in Italy and this will be Lucija’s first time away from her domineering mother. Under heavy renovation, with sweaty men thumping around the statues of the Virgin Mary and a bevy of teenaged girls—you have all the makings of a clichéd Euro coming of age film. But in the hands of newcomer Urška Djukić it’s so much more. The film zigs when you’re expecting it to zag, never leaning too hard into the clichés, even when presented with them on full face value. The performances are incredible—especially considering the girls are playing their age. Include the remarkable turn by Saša Tabaković as the mercurial choirmaster in a performance where you’ll worry he’s going to take a creepy turn, yet the turn he takes is so much worse. Little Trouble Girls is a wonderful film and deserves the time of fans of well-done character studies and independent cinema.
This is a light package—video is presented 1:50:1 (3:2—window boxed, if you will or VistaVision if you’re super trendy). Image is bright and lush, suiting the film quite well. Not a demo disc, but nothing to swat away at. Audio is native Slovene DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and 2.0. Sound is very important to this film, and the sound design comes across quite well. The only extra is a trailer giving you the impression that the film is more of a queer coming-of-age film than it is, which it’s soooo not. Yes, it’s a little queer—but in that way that so many teenagers go through. That period where they’re asking themselves all the questions that help define who they are as they grow up. Do yourself a favor and track this film down. If this review piques your interest, and you’re not willing to track down a physical copy—this is another one available via the Kanopy app on Smart TVs/devices and all you need is a library card and the time to watch a lot of great flicks. Physical is the way to go, obvs, but sometimes a great movie deserves a “by any means necessary” attitude.
- Todd Doogan