This review of “Benedetta” first published on July 9, following its screening at Cannes 2021. Some see the whole world in a grain of sand; Paul Verhoeven, with typical abundance, expands that old ...

Paul Verhoeven, director of Robocop, Showgirls, Starship Troopers, etc. has always been a horny little altar boy at heart and never has that been more clear than in his new film, Benedetta, a tale of ...

Beneath the explicit sex and violence of the latest film from Dutch provocateur Paul Verhoeven are thoughtful challenges about gender roles and institutional religion. As a child, Benedetta is praised ...

The flesh is weak but the third act is even weaker in Paul Verhoeven's transgressive but frustratingly self-conflicted period piece. You probably won’t be shocked to hear that Paul Verhoeven’s erotic ...

In a frank interview, the "Showgirls," "Basic Instinct," and "Elle" director explains why that Virgin Mary dildo was a dramatic necessity. Cannes debut “Benedetta” is his latest provocation, a true ...

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From the first few moments, when a traveling performer lights his farts on fire while being chased by skeleton-clad agents of death, Benedetta signals its devotion to corporeal impulses. “Your worst ...

A loose adaptation of Judith C. Brown’s book Immodest Acts: The Life of a Lesbian Nun in Renaissance Italy, this French-language drama set in 17th century Tuscany stars Virginie Efira as the eponymous ...

Paul Verhoeven is out to challenge our cultural Puritanism. A man fascinated by the taboo and the off-limits, his films are full of graphic, shocking, controversial depictions of sexuality. “Benedetta ...

With his historical film about a 17th century French woman who has a sexual relationship with a fellow sister, the bad boy of Dutch cinema might appear to be courting controversy, but he says it is ...