I Always Wanted to be a Saint

Like the heroine of prime time's “Joan of Arcadia,” Norah, 17, wants to do good things and believes she has a direct connection to the higher power. No, it's not God whom she imagines coming to consult with her regularly, but rather Nico Marcuse, a dashing race-car driver (inspired by Brazil's Ayrton Senna) whose death Norah witnessed on TV. Irrationally blaming herself, Norah has conjured up the late Nico as a friend and sort of guardian angel to assist her in volunteerism and helping others get their lives back on track. Next assignment: Norah's friend Magali, hurting from a dysfunctional relationship with her mother. The “project” ends up hitting closer to home than Norah had bargained for; her own mother abandoned the family right after Norah's birth, and now comes the momentous revelation that the prodigal adult can be found living not too far away in the mountains of Switzerland. Her sainthood faltering, Norah decides to make a pilgrimage to the Alps for a reckoning – with mom, with herself, with the motives for her virtuous impulses, and with Nico. (In French with English subtitles)