# Benedetta (film)
*Benedetta* is a 2021 French-language historical drama directed by [Paul Verhoeven](https://www.edgepedia.org/paul-verhoeven), based on the documented life of [Benedetta Carlini](https://www.edgepedia.org/benedetta-carlini), a 17th-century Italian nun who claimed religious visions and entered a lesbian relationship with a fellow sister in her convent. The film competed for the [Palme d'Or](https://www.edgepedia.org/palme-dor) at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival and received a limited United States theatrical release on December 3, 2021.[1](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/f/benedetta/) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/benedetta)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director / writers | Paul Verhoeven; screenplay by Verhoeven and David Birke, with Judith C. Brown credited among writers[1](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/f/benedetta/) • [3](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/benedetta/) |
| Source | Judith C. Brown's scholarly book *Immodest Acts: The Life of a Lesbian Nun in Renaissance Italy*, built on original trial documents[4](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/2021/benedetta-sapphism-and-christianity-in-the-17th-century/) • [5](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/benedetta-religious-sexual-ecstasy-paul-verhoeven-lesbian-nun) |
| Lead cast | Virginie Efira as Benedetta Carlini, Charlotte Rampling as the abbess Sister Felicita, Daphné Patakia as Bartolomea, Lambert Wilson as the nuncio[1](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/f/benedetta/) |
| Festival | In Competition at the 74th Cannes Film Festival, 2021[1](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/f/benedetta/) |
| US release | Limited theatrical December 3, 2021 (IFC Films); streaming December 21, 2021; US gross $354.3K[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/benedetta) |
| Reception | 84% on the Tomatometer from 200 reviews; Metascore 75 from 38 critic reviews[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/benedetta) • [3](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/benedetta/) |
| Runtime | 127 minutes per Cannes; 131 minutes per the Spanish ICAA certification; 2h 6m per Rotten Tomatoes[1](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/f/benedetta/) • [6](https://sede.mcu.gob.es/CatalogoICAA/Peliculas/Detalle?pelicula=169921) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/benedetta) |
## Spoilers
### Story and source
The film is set in the late 17th century, with plague ravaging the land, as Benedetta Carlini joins the convent in Pescia, Tuscany, as a novice. Capable from an early age of performing miracles, her impact on the community is immediate and momentous.[1](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/f/benedetta/) The official synopsis describes a 17th-century nun entangled in a forbidden lesbian affair with a novice, while her religious visions threaten to shake the Church to its core.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/benedetta)
Verhoeven encountered the story in Judith C. Brown's *Immodest Acts: The Life of a Lesbian Nun in Renaissance Italy*, a work of scholarly research using original documents discovered in Florence to tell the true story of Benedetta.[4](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/2021/benedetta-sapphism-and-christianity-in-the-17th-century/) • [5](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/benedetta-religious-sexual-ecstasy-paul-verhoeven-lesbian-nun) In the source material, the trial report contained sexual details offered up by Benedetta's lover, Sister Bartolomea, to the extent that the shocked court clerk's handwriting changed.[4](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/2021/benedetta-sapphism-and-christianity-in-the-17th-century/) An opening credit names the book as the film's inspiration.[7](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/benedetta-cannes-review/5161436.article) The historical Benedetta wielded significant power at the Theatine convent in Pescia, her hometown in Tuscany, and went from respect to trial.[4](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/2021/benedetta-sapphism-and-christianity-in-the-17th-century/)
## Production
Verhoeven scripted the film with David Birke, his co-writer on *[Elle](https://www.edgepedia.org/elle-film)* (2016).[4](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/2021/benedetta-sapphism-and-christianity-in-the-17th-century/) • [7](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/benedetta-cannes-review/5161436.article) He chose [Virginie Efira](https://www.edgepedia.org/virginie-efira) for the title role, won over by her performance in *Elle*.[4](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/2021/benedetta-sapphism-and-christianity-in-the-17th-century/) The film was shot partly in the regions of Tuscany and Umbria in 2018.[8](https://www.toscanafilmcommission.it/en/benedetta-by-paul-verhoeven-was-released-in-italian-theatres/nggallery/image/333248049_954995365947596_6774750261142602091_n/)
**Cinematography.** Jeanne Lapoirie shot the actors in candlelight as a tribute to [Stanley Kubrick](https://www.edgepedia.org/stanley-kubrick)'s *Barry Lyndon*; with help from digital technology, a single tallow candle created the film's atmosphere.[4](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/2021/benedetta-sapphism-and-christianity-in-the-17th-century/) The crew also included Katia Wyszkop (production design), Anne Dudley (music), and Job ter Burg (editing).[1](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/f/benedetta/) Production companies included SBS Productions, Pathé, France 2 Cinéma, and Belga Productions, and the film is a French production with Belgian and Dutch co-production involvement.[1](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/f/benedetta/) • [9](https://mdblist.com/movie/27q7-benedetta)
## Release and reception
*Benedetta* premiered in [Competition](https://www.edgepedia.org/competition) at the 74th Cannes Film Festival, whose 2021 edition marked the festival's first physical gathering in two years after postponements during the pandemic.[1](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/f/benedetta/) • [7](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/benedetta-cannes-review/5161436.article) IFC Films released it in limited US theaters on December 3, 2021, with streaming on December 21, 2021; the US gross was $354.3K.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/benedetta) In Spain, where the film was rated not recommended for audiences under 16, it earned €192,492.88 from 34,084 admissions.[6](https://sede.mcu.gob.es/CatalogoICAA/Peliculas/Detalle?pelicula=169921) The film was picketed at the New York film festival and outright banned in Singapore.[10](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/apr/16/benedetta-review-paul-verhoeven-charlotte-rampling)
**Critical response.** On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds 84% from 200 reviews, with a critics consensus reading: "Precariously walking a tightrope of varying genres and tones, *Benedetta* provokes salient questions about sexual freedom and its relationship to faith."[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/benedetta) Metacritic assigned a score of 75 based on 38 critic reviews, categorized as generally favorable.[3](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/benedetta/) Justin Chang of the Los Angeles Times wrote that Verhoeven "clearly wants us to laugh; the movie's a gas. But he doesn't mind if we think too."[3](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/benedetta/) The Guardian's review found the film, for all its transgressive subject matter, "more silly than savage, more playful than profane."[10](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/apr/16/benedetta-review-paul-verhoeven-charlotte-rampling) [Sight and Sound](https://www.edgepedia.org/sight-and-sound)'s John Bleasdale observed that "it is difficult to tell how seriously to take the film, and how seriously the film is taking itself."[5](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/benedetta-religious-sexual-ecstasy-paul-verhoeven-lesbian-nun)
## Themes and style
Critics located the film within Verhoeven's career-long concerns. The Cannes festival program describes it as examining religion, sexuality, and political intrigue within the Church, leitmotifs the director holds dear.[4](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/2021/benedetta-sapphism-and-christianity-in-the-17th-century/) Screen's Cannes review read the underlying theme as how a woman who was not of high birth could achieve power and influence in a world controlled by men on earth, and the Father and Son in heaven.[7](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/benedetta-cannes-review/5161436.article) Bleasdale compared Verhoeven's attitude to the church with his attitude toward the military in *Starship Troopers* (1997): he enjoys the paraphernalia and the aesthetic while satirizing the ideology.[5](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/benedetta-religious-sexual-ecstasy-paul-verhoeven-lesbian-nun) Reviewers also noted the film's tonal range, mixing gothic melodrama, erotic thriller conventions, and comedy, with Anne Dudley's score shifting between period instruments and chorales and a lusher orchestral sound.[5](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/benedetta-religious-sexual-ecstasy-paul-verhoeven-lesbian-nun)
## References
1. [BENEDETTA, Festival de Cannes film page](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/f/benedetta/)
2. [Benedetta, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/benedetta)
3. [Benedetta Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/benedetta/)
4. [Benedetta: sapphism and Christianity in the 17th century, Festival de Cannes](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/2021/benedetta-sapphism-and-christianity-in-the-17th-century/)
5. [Benedetta review: religious and sexual ecstasy, Sight and Sound, BFI](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/benedetta-religious-sexual-ecstasy-paul-verhoeven-lesbian-nun)
6. [BENEDETTA, ICAA Film Database](https://sede.mcu.gob.es/CatalogoICAA/Peliculas/Detalle?pelicula=169921)
7. ['Benedetta': Cannes Review, Screen Daily](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/benedetta-cannes-review/5161436.article)
8. [Benedetta by Paul Verhoeven was released in Italian theatres, Toscana Film Commission](https://www.toscanafilmcommission.it/en/benedetta-by-paul-verhoeven-was-released-in-italian-theatres/nggallery/image/333248049_954995365947596_6774750261142602091_n/)
9. [Benedetta (2021), MDBList](https://mdblist.com/movie/27q7-benedetta)
10. [Benedetta review, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/apr/16/benedetta-review-paul-verhoeven-charlotte-rampling)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Drama and biographical films (individual works) › Drama films 2020 to 2022*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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