IMDb plot summary: A 17th-century nun in Italy suffers from disturbing religious and erotic visions. She is assisted by a companion, and the relationship between the two women develops into a romantic love affair.
Directed by Paul Verhoeven. Starring Virginie Efira, Charlotte Rampling, and Daphne Patakia.
Benedetta is a Paul Verhoeven movie about a young woman who grows up in a convent in 17th century Italy. As an adult, she begins a secret affair with one of the other women in the convent, while also publicly having visions and experiencing stigmata, though some of the other nuns are suspicious she is faking these miracles. This is apparently based on a non-fiction book, though there's not a lot of material I can find on the book so I can't tell you how close the story is to the actual story. I can tell you that I didn't enjoy this at all. Verhoeven always rides the line between exploitation and profundity, and here I think it falls pretty solidly in the former camp, with erotic and religious images being combined in a way that feel less thoughtful than flippantly salacious. There is an interesting exploration to be had of how young women with culturally taboo desires may conflate quote-unquote "holy ecstasy" with "carnal ecstasy," but I don't think this film handles it in at all an interesting manner. There's a story in here I'm interested in seeing, but Verhoeven obscures it seemingly only for shock value.
How it entered my Flickchart:
Benedetta < Les Miserables
Benedetta > Wrath of Man
Benedetta < Hitchcock
Benedetta > Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Benedetta < Into the Dark: Pooka!
Benedetta < Less Than Zero
Benedetta > Burning Annie
Benedetta < The Adjustment Bureau
Benedetta < The Unsinkable Molly Brown
Benedetta < Paint Your Wagon
Benedetta < Nine
Benedetta > The Conjuring
Final spot: #2451 out of 3609, or 32%.
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