Jesus Christ, Paul Verhoeven! Lesbian Nuns and Racy Convent Sex Make ‘Benedetta’ the Talk of Cannes

Metascore is just 64 from 9 critics.

https://variety.com/2021/film/news/lesbian-sex-nuns-movie-paul-verhoeven-benedetta-cannes-1235016161/

The period drama screened on Friday night at the 74th annual Cannes, where it was showered with a robust five-minute standing ovation.

The foreign-language movie — loosely adapted from the book “Immodest Acts: The Life of a Lesbian Nun in Renaissance Italy” — stars Belgian actress Virginie Efira as Benedetta Carlini, an 1800s French nun who believes she is possessed by Jesus Christ.

As she grapples with that revelation, she falls in love with her caretaker, a young nun named Bartolomea (Daphne Patakia). Their explicit love affair unravels with racy love scenes reminiscent of “Blue Is the Warmest Colour” and a sex toy that’s carved out of a wooden figure of the Virgin Mary.

There’s also enough violence in “Benedetta” to give “The Passion of the Christ” a run for its money, although it’s unlikely that this movie will play to the same religious crowds that bought tickets to that 2004 blockbuster.