RELIGIOUS ARDOUR

All good things come to those who wait. Especially if you’re a Paul Verhoeven fan. The controversial Dutch director of Showgirls and Basic Instinct was all set to bring his new film Benedetta to Cannes in 2019 until a knee operation saw him postpone his place in official competition by a year. Then the pandemic hit, Cannes 2020 was cancelled, and Benedetta was shelved for another 12 months before finally being unveiled at the world’s most famous film festival last July.

When the movie finally played, social media exploded. “The first reactions to Paul Verhoeven’s latest film BENEDETTA have just dropped out of #Cannes and all we can say is: ‘OH MY GOD!’” tweeted one attendee. This historical drama based on a true story about a nun who finds solace in the company of another woman saw critics either ecstatic or up in arms, with a story that features lashings of sex, nudity, violence, and profanity. At the press conference, Verhoeven’s film was even