Benedetta (2021)

At the age of 83, it is wonderful to see Paul Verhoeven mojo's still on fire after all these years. His latest offering Benedetta (2021), a provocative lesbian affair in a 17th-century nunnery set amidst the bubonic plague is more than erotic drama as Verhoeven manages to mix dogmas of faith & superstition in the narrative. It definitely lives up to its billing as one of his best film, exceptionally well made all around and stays true to form throughout. Along the way, it has a true and sad story to tell, but it is an entertaining film with funny characters and Jesus Christ cameo with a sword-slinging fight sequence. The film might feel inconsistent in its satire on the Catholic Church but it definitely hits hard where it counts. The best is in the 2nd half, there is an intriguing balance between the satire and the obscene, waddling constantly between the two, with wild moments.

The film has few shortcomings, but they are completely outweighed by its main advantage - cinematography, soundtrack and the wacky screenplay. On the acting side we have a stable interpretive work of all those involved, but the one who stands out the most is Virginie Efirahas, some of the best acting of the year.

Overall, 'Benedetta' is an Paul Verhoeven movie at its best. It is a mischievous film in the very spirit of Ken Russell's The Devils (1971) and Nunsploitation classics. It might feel off-putting before becoming entertaining and it succeeds in doing this in all aspects.

Fmovies: Paul Verhoeven directed the film about lesbian nuns we all wanted to make when we were teenagers. And more surprisingly, he made a really good film of that.

Well done, old man! 😈🙌

Sex. Religion. Power. With these three ingredients in a movie, you can't go wrong. In 'Benedetta', the combination is the basis for a compelling story. Pretending to be miraculously blessed by God, the nun Benedetta starts a ruthless power struggle in her convent, meanwhile not holding back in fulfilling her carnal desires.

Instead of turning his attention on the person Benedetta, her motives and her psychology, director Paul Verhoeven takes the easy road. He is much more interested in her body than her mind. Female nudity is abundant and most of the nuns are pretty and sensual. There is also a lot of violence, because Benedetta has disturbing dreams and visions, resulting in some scenes that are completely over the top. The much written-about dildo, made out of a small statue of the virgin Mary, makes one doubt how seriously the film should be taken. Verhoeven doesn't miss any opportunity to please a thrill-seeking audience, instead of challenging his viewers. The story contains interesting elements, worth exploring, such as the contrast between Benedetta, who is well educated, and her lover Bartolomea, a peasant girl who can't read or write. But the only thing Verhoeven focuses on, is their mutual sexual attraction.

Don't get me wrong. Benedetta is a very entertaining film. It is exciting from start to finish and doesn't contain any dull moment. This is a film made by a craftsman who knows how to please an audience. But personally, I think the story could have been dealt with in a different way. Verhoeven's film is a succession of spectacular events, filmed in a spectacular way. I would have liked it more if it had been a bit less explicit, and more understated. But of course, understatement has never been one of Verhoeven's strong points.

Benedetta fmovies. Benedetta is a story that might already sounds familiar, but it's not, it's more than just a story, it's a fascinating and powerful story that superbly well perform, well craft, and well directed, arranging drama and romance comparable, Benedetta it's a powerful true story in a very powerful religion, and the movie itself for me is one of 2021 Masterpiece, i highly recommended.

A medieval story of desire, love, delusion, religion and betrayals that mildly titillates, but ultimately flails, delivering very little value, with no arc to the tale.

Well, some nude nuns and some sword fighting with blood splattering. I am astonished what deeper meanings some reviewers are able to detect in the story of Benedetta. In the late 60s and 70s there was a flood of those kind of movies - historical movies, horror movies, spy movies, all mixed softporn with some other genre, but of course with a much lower production value (one of the strong points of Benedetta). And this is in my view the essence of Benedetta: softporn scenes embedded in a historic setting/story. Sadly, Benedetta has not a highly entertaining trash/cheese factor nor is the story outstanding drama wise. What else? The settings are fine, and I liked most the scenes just depicting the ordinary life of the people back then (like the market place with those jugglers). Some of the fight scenes are rather funny looking - like the guy killing all those guys trying to get a nun naked. Looks like all those guys wanted to be slashed down by the savior - a medieval sect of suicidal maniacs? What else? The acting is good, but the sex scenes, well, put in the context may be disturbing to true believers of Christian believe but in times of Youporn are rather tame, but may still satisfy the voyeur in the audience (fine looking girls, well shot, I admit). Benedetta: all in all not a bad movie but I like Flesh + Blood a lot more - the entertainment factor is far higher than in this one, and the higher meaning of Benedetta is in my humble opinion rather a matter of the power of imagination of the respective viewer, here I failed. Last note: just imagine - would you watch a movie with the same story but with monks? I wouldn't.