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(but still controversial) religious explorations like Martin Scorsese's The Last Temptation of Christ.Īlthough it debuted more than a year ago at Cannes in its native France, Benedetta did not receive a wide American theatrical release and In comparison with the director's more mainstream American fare, toeing the line carefully between total knee-jerk exploitation and grounded Share of Verhoeven-brand camp, from copious fart jokes to those over-the-top religious visions, Benedetta is borderline restrained Verhoeven directs his source material ( Immodest Acts, a 1986 novel by by Judith Brown) with the careful approach of a seasonedįilmmaker, showing renewed confidence in just his fourth project since the financially successful but critically lambasted 2000 film Hollow Man and his first since 2016's Elle. Years (although perhaps hidden by the naivete of youth), so it's not long before the master is outplayed at every turn. Felicita's apprentice has possibly known this for
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Where the former recognizes her position of authority as part of "a game to be played". It's a subversive concoction that's perhaps best summarized in a brief exchange between Abbess Felicita and Benedetta during the film's first half, Almost every key character uses "God's will" for their own benefit, from personal to political, whileīenedetta's deliberate balance of true (on-screen) events with ambiguous ones will keep first-time viewers guessing every step of the way. It's a densely dramatic journey, and one in which the idea of steadfast morality is thrown out the window as viewers will constantly struggle to find While outside forces, including the burgeoning Black Plague and a fiery comet sighting, play separate roles in the film's gradually unfolding In power at the convent, a higher authority figure is introduced with papal ambassador Alfonso (Lambert Wilson), who's brought in to investigate Newfound "gifts", including Abbess Felicita and her daughter Christina (Louise Chevillotte), while it's also strongly suspected that Benedetta andīartolomea have entered into a physical relationship due to their unique emotional bond brought upon by the latter's abusive past. Intense spiritual visions that even carry physical consequences, such as sporadically bleeding stigmata wounds. Woman named Bartolomea (Daphne Patakia) joins their ranks to flee her sexually abusive father and brothers, and Benedetta begins to have
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Soon, two events happen that change her life dramatically: a younger Once Benedetta's father pays a large sum of money for the privilege of his daughter's admission, she's introduced to convent leader Abbessįelicita (Charlotte Rampling) and grows into a young woman (Virginie Efira). A bird intervenes, and it's the first of many times that her bold claims will be answered in an alarmingly ambiguous way. We're first introduced to young Benedetta and her family on the road to Pescia where she hopes to join aĬonvent they're almost robbed by bandits, but she threatens them with punishment from the Virgin Mary herself, who young Benedetta supposedlyĬommunicates with. or in this case, the possibility of one saintly heroineĪgainst some kind of corrupt institution. Measured production that, if nothing else, avoids the typical cliché of heroes vs. Blood will be shed, and almost no one will get away clean.īut considering its potentially scathing subject matter (not to mention Verhoeven's filmography, which includes such visceral fare as Robocop, Total Recall, Basic Instinct, and of course Showgirls), Benedetta is a disarmingly straight and More of organized religion's greatest hits. Based on the historical account of lesbian nun Benedetta Carlini (1590-1661),īenedetta depicts the struggle for power in an Italian convent riddled with forbidden sexual desire, false witness, shame, misogyny, and Question your own beliefs, it's gonna be a long 131 minutes. so if you consider yourself unwilling to examine and possibly Needless to say, this is a film almost guaranteed to ruffle feathers. It's an intensely challenging and ugly examination ofġ7th century Catholicism and its damning effects on just about everyone it touches, flying in the face of Christianity's false claim as the only path to Reviewed by Randy Miller III, July 14, 2022Īs hard as it is to watch, Paul Verhoeven's Benedetta is even harder to write about.