Controversial drama from director Paul Verhoeven

17th-century Tuscany, Italy. As the sinister threat of the Plague looms over Europe, the sincerely devout eight-year-old novice, Benedetta Carlini, is brought into the Theatine Convent of the Mother of God in Pescia as a bride for Jesus Christ. Eighteen long years later, as ominous whispers of disputable miracles scandalise the cloistered sisters, a test of faith awaits deeply pious Benedetta in the shape of bruised, abused, and earthly Bartolomea: a young woman fleeing her violent father. Now, while under the vigilant eye of cynical Abbess Felicita, fleeting glimpses of the forbidden fruit invite a tentative intimacy, ungovernable desires, and intense diabolical obsessions in, and suddenly, the holy signs of faith are manifest in Sister Benedetta's body. But, few can wrestle with guilt and emerge unscathed. Is there an escape from sin when the flesh is the enemy?

★★★★★ A substantial, sophisticated, yet briskly paced and always highly entertaining drama BBC - Nicholas Barber
★★★★★ Continues Verhoeven’s strong run with as good a movie as he’s ever made San Francisco Chronicle
★★★★ Equal parts funny, sensual and incendiary, it’s a committed work from director Paul Verhoeven IGN

BBFC Insight: sexual violence, strong sex, nudity, bloody violence
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Please Note In French language with English subtitles.