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Saint Clara (1996) movie poster

Spoiler-Free Summary

Saint Clara (1996) Spoiler-Free Summary – What It's About

Release, runtime and language
1996 · 85 mins · Hebrew
Directed by
Ari Folman, Ori Sivan
Starring
Maya Maron, Menashe Noy, Igal Naor, Orly Zilberschatz, Lucy Dubinchik, Tal Ben-Bina

Set in 1999, the film follows thirteen‑year‑old Clara, a girl endowed with prophetic visions and telekinetic abilities. Her extraordinary gifts draw together a web of intersecting stories: a classmate who harbors a crush on her, the lives of his family, Clara’s own family dynamics, and a mysterious principal who inexplicably speaks only French. All these threads converge as a quiet revolution begins.

On this page (6)
  1. 1 What it is about
  2. 2 Is it worth watching?
  3. 3 After you watch
  4. 4 Movie threads
  5. 5 Movies like Saint Clara
  6. 6 Every angle

Spoiler-free summary · safe to read

What Is Saint Clara About? (No Spoilers)

The plot of Saint Clara (1996) without spoilers: what it is about, who it follows and where it takes place, told without the twists or the ending. Enough to decide whether it is your next watch, not enough to ruin it.

In the summer of 1999, a modest town revolves around Golda School, a place where ordinary routines mask an undercurrent of quiet unease. At its heart sits thirteen‑year‑old Clara, a shy girl whose prophetic visions and subtle telekinetic gifts set her apart from her peers. Her uncanny abilities ripple outward, drawing together the lives of a classmate who quietly admires her, the tangled histories of their families, and a headmaster whose sole language is French, lending the school an air of enigmatic formality.

Eddie Tikel navigates the hallways with a restless energy, his secret crush on Clara intertwining with his own ambitions and the expectations of a tight‑knit community. Beside him, “Rozy” Rosenthal offers a mix of loyalty and mischief, while Liby balances curiosity with a yearning for connection. Each teen carries their own story—hope, doubt, and the desire to belong—yet they all orbit around the magnetic pull of Clara’s strange foresight, creating a web of intersecting narratives that feel both intimate and expansive.

Overseeing this delicate dance is Headmaster Tissona, whose French‑only discourse and inscrutable demeanor suggest a deeper, perhaps institutional, awareness of the changes stirring beneath the surface. His presence hints at an impending shift, a subtle rebellion that is as much about personal awakening as it is about challenging the unspoken order of the town. The school's corridors become a stage where whispers of revolution echo, amplified by Clara’s quiet power.

The film balances a mood of gentle surrealism with the palpable tension of adolescence on the brink of transformation. Its tone is both nostalgic and unsettling, inviting viewers to wonder how a single child's gifts might ripple through a community poised for change. As the characters linger on the edge of discovery, the story promises a slow‑burning shift that feels inevitable yet remains delicately unresolved.

Last updated: October 27, 2025 at 16:40

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What to expect

Is Saint Clara Worth Watching? What It Feels Like

Is it dark, sad, slow, intense or confusing? The mood of Saint Clara (1996) in a few tags, without a word about how it ends. Each tag opens a list of movies that feel the same.

After you watch

Seen Saint Clara? Now Read the Spoilers

Once you have watched Saint Clara (1996), come back for the full story: the plot summary with spoilers, the timeline in chronological order, the characters and meaning.

Movie threads

More Movies Like Saint Clara, by Mood & Story

Curated lists built around what makes Saint Clara tick: the same mood, the same kind of story or the same emotional payoff. Each list explains why these movies belong together.

Movies about psychic teenagers and prophecies like Saint Clara

Stories where adolescent outsiders with supernatural gifts foresee societal collapse. If you enjoyed the unique combination of adolescent life and supernatural foresight in Saint Clara, this thread finds similar movies. Discover other stories where a teen's psychic abilities, like clairvoyance or telekinesis, are intertwined with predictions of social upheaval, blending the personal struggle of growing up with a dreamlike sense of impending doom.

  • dreamlike
  • anxious
  • nostalgic
  • ominous
  • melancholic
  • surreal
  • Tone: melancholic, ominous
  • Pacing: variable, reflective
Why these movies?

The story pattern: Narratives in this thread typically follow a gifted but isolated teenager whose unique perspective allows them to perceive a looming threat or societal breakdown that adults ignore. Their personal conflicts—with family, school, or first love—are heightened and paralleled by the larger, surreal crisis they foresee, often leading to a climax where the personal and prophetic collide.

Why they belong together: These films are grouped together because they share a specific core: a psychic adolescent protagonist whose inner world of visions and powers directly impacts a fragile external reality. They balance the intimate drama of teenage life with a broader, often surreal, commentary on society, all wrapped in a melancholic, dreamlike mood.

Movies with a dreamlike dystopian vibe like Saint Clara

Films where an eerie, quiet society begins to fracture in surreal ways. For viewers who liked the quiet, surreal sense of a society on the brink in Saint Clara, this thread finds similar films. Explore stories where social unrest or collapse is depicted with a dreamlike, melancholic atmosphere, focusing on character-driven drama within an ominously shifting world rather than large-scale action.

  • surreal
  • ominous
  • dreamlike
  • anxious
  • melancholic
  • nostalgic
  • Tone: melancholic, surreal
  • Pacing: variable, atmospheric
Why these movies?

The story pattern: The narrative pattern involves a community, often a school or small town, that serves as a microcosm for larger societal tensions. The story unfolds through interconnected characters, with the external world's deterioration mirrored in their personal struggles. The pacing is variable, alternating between slow, reflective moments that build atmosphere and quicker sequences highlighting the surreal chaos of the collapse, typically leading to a bittersweet or ambiguous resolution.

Why they belong together: These movies are grouped by their shared approach to depicting societal breakdown: not as a loud, explosive event, but as a quiet, surreal, and deeply personal experience. They prioritize mood and atmosphere over plot, using a melancholic tone and variable pacing to explore how large-scale unrest filters down into individual lives.

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Movies Like Saint Clara

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Every angle

Saint Clara (1996) Explained: Plot, Timeline & Characters

Everything about Saint Clara in one place: what happens in the plot summary, the timeline in chronological order, the characters and meaning and a spoiler-free summary. What's After the Movie adds the cast, box office and post-credit scenes.

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