Benedetta 2021

Italy in the 17th century: Behind the walls of the monastery of Pescia, novice Benedetta Carlini (Virginie Efira) upsets the heads of the Catholic Church when the stigmata of Christ appear on her body. Despite initial doubts about the authenticity of the stigmata, Benedetta is now considered God's chosen one, rises to the position of abbess and enjoys privileges in the religious community that make it easier for her to lead a secret double life: she allows herself to be introduced to the secrets of physical pleasure by the nun's pupil Bartholomea (Daphne Patakia). But the former convent headmistress Felicita (Charlotte Rampling) gets on the trail of the forbidden goings-on ..

Paul Verhoeven, the master of provocation, returns with a bang: four years after his Golden Globe® success with "Elle", the director presents BENEDETTA, the erotic love story of two nuns, a feverish stroke of genius that caused a sensation at this year's Cannes International Film Festival. Based on the book Immodest Acts by Judith C. Brown, Verhoeven traces the life of lesbian nun Benedetta Carlini, allowing religion and sexuality to collide in ways never seen before. The ambiguous drama with Virginie Efira as Benedetta, Daphné Patakia as a seductive novice and Charlotte Rampling as a strict abbess tells of the rise of a young woman who single-mindedly fights her way to the top of a male domain. Her perfidious game with the truth is reminiscent of Verhoeven's classics "Basic Instinct" and "Total Recall". BENEDETTA is Paul Verhoeven's next must-see masterpiece.