Fantaspoa 2026 Review: Virtuous Women (2026) by Cintia Domit Bittar

Director: Cintia Domit Bittar

Year: 2026

Country: Brazil

Alternate Titles: Virtuosas

Genre: Supernatural

Plot:

Winning a special vacation pass, a woman joins other women at a special, private retreat from a special influencer looking to help other women become better versions of themselves, eventually bringing her to uncover the truth about what’s being taught at the compound and how to stop it.

Review:

Overall, this was a decent enough take on the genre. One of the better features of this one is the rather strong storyline at play, which offers a chilling form of control that might not be as obvious as it seems. The early stages of the film, with her arriving at the compound to begin her journey into being a more attentive and feminine version of herself to appeal to potential suitors and slowly becoming aware of something hidden underneath the teachings, become a rather intriguing mark as the film goes on. The first half of this one, setting up the series of group sessions detailing food preparation, family control, and attempts at inner harmony, offers a fairly innocuous starting point designed to appeal to those looking for something to help them in that realm of proper presentation into an elite society, helping to further the idea of this feminine energy being exuded over the film.

The more the girls are trapped in the house, and the longer this goes on, the more attempts at introducing something behind the teachings means this one goes for a rather dark, supernatural bent as an excuse to explain everything. The continued insistence on labeling any interruptions to their teachings as the work of a witch, especially once they find the suspected nanny who comes over to check on the house, allows this one to dive into the idea that any form of identity and self-expression away from what’s deemed proper in high society. This carries along with it the kind of setup where what happens at the end, based on what’s been established from these various exercises and programs for the various girls, has more of an impact, as the shocking violence and unexpected turn of events leave this with a great touch, holding this up overall.

There are some minor drawbacks on display that hold this one back. The main issue with this one comes from the overly familiar and generally one-note series of stereotypes present in the presentation of the girls, which manages to give everything the kind of expected setup that isn’t as clever as it thinks it is. Featuring the expected figures in someone acting as a spy for someone on the outside looking into what’s really going on at the compound, the picture-perfect politician’s wife, who’s more obsessed with her image than anything else, and the new mother, more worried about how everything will affect her daughter, make for some pretty obvious character types that leave the film quite obvious about where it’s going. More to the point, the action is all kept at the end, so it feels a bit bland, making these characterization points take centerstage in the running time more frequently, not only making the pacing somewhat sluggish at times but also leaving everything that much more focalized on these personality types that come off rather obviously in this setup. Overall, these are what lower this one the most.

Overview: ***.5/5

A likable if somewhat flawed take on the genre, there’s a lot to like here in this particular style, but it gets let down slightly by the series of issues that keep this one from being as good as it could’ve been. Those with an appreciation or interest in this style will have the most to like here, while most others out there might want to heed caution here.

This review ran as part of our coverage of the 2026 Fantaspoa Film Festival.