Benedetta

If you like blashphemy, you’ll love Paul Verhoeven’s new film, Benedetta. I’m personally a big fan of blasphemy. So for me, this might be the best Verhoeven film I’ve seen. The best, but not my personal favourite. Verhoeven’s worst film, Showgirls still exists and I love that piece of shit.

The titular character, Benedetta is a young nun. Even by nun standards, Benedetta has a strong, often physical devotion to Jesus and The Virgin Mary. She has frequent dreams of Jesus calling to her as his bride and saving her life. A young novitiate named Bartolomea further stresses Benedetta with her flirtation and affection. When Benedetta’s dreams result in the stigmata, she becomes the new Mother Superior. In her new position, Benedetta takes Bartolomea as a lover. She holds strong beliefs in her ability to save her town from the plague ravaging the country. These beliefs and acts are put on trial when the former Mother Superior brings the church higher-ups to Benedetta’s door.

Paul Verhoeven’s focus on this historical figure is definitely in the erotic realm. Beyond Benedetta’s lesbian relationship, her dreams of Jesus also have a highly sexual element. The film focuses heavily on how sexual desire can be sublimated or warped through spirituality. This culminates in a scene where a statue of the Virgin Mary is used as a sex toy. I have broader issues with Verhoeven’s female-led films. They have such a focus on sexuality and often women being punished for said sexuality. This is largely absent from his male-led work. But in this setting, that theme is absolutely appropriate and well-executed.

Beyond the sex, Benedetta reads pretty critical or at least, disrespectful of the church. Personally, I love to see it. Much of this film is about how the rules of faith can be manipulated by individuals. There’s lots of infighting, gatekeeping and bureaucracy regarding the word of god. There’s also focus on wealth inequality between the church and the peasants. Benedetta also deals in a very negative, faith-based definition of love. Personal suffering is the only way to truly show love; whether that be to God or another person.

God, I love a good nun movie. Benedetta really provided on what I want from a nun movie. That is, an exploration of how batshit insane convent life is. Convents are a great place to take characters to emotional extremes. Verhoeven absolutely does this. It’s such a fascinating setting. Much of what is important to nuns doesn’t hold real-life consequences. It’s either minute power struggles or concerns about hell. Until Benedetta creates a cult of personality around herself. Then, the madness of the convent spills into the town. So many nun movies, especially nunsploitation films are boring. Benedetta sure ain’t boring. It milks every emotional extreme from this setting and adds plague, sexual perversion and torture on top of it.

Benedetta is an absolute success of a film. Most nun films, especially with similar themes are lazy exploitation. Benedetta is not that. Exploitation, a little bit. But this is exploitation of the highest calibre. Great setting, direction, sound and performances bring this way above the nunspsloitation genre. It also goes further with its themes, sexuality, and willingness to blaspheme than those films do. Benedetta went all in on nun madness and sexuality. I respect that.

Overall rating: 8.5/10

Other WLW films in similar genres