Director Paul Verhoeven has predicted outrage in the US over his 'religiously sinful and absurdist' new 'nunsploitation film' Benedetta.
Verhoeven - who broke the 'barrier of decency' in mainstream movies with his leg-crossing scene in Basic Instinct - says he doesn't think Benedetta 'will be scandalous, at least not in Western Europe'.
The film is the story of a 17th century French nun who embarks upon an affair with another sister. It contains scenes of lesbian sex, self-flagellation, nun- on-nun kissing and nudity.
But the iconic director fears it could face backlash in the conservative US, where there is more 'puritanism', he said.
Director Paul Verhoeven has predicted outrage in the US over his 'religiously sinful and absurdist' new 'nunsploitation film' Benedetta (pictured)
Verhoeven (pictured at Cannes) - who broke the 'barrier of decency' in mainstream movies with his leg-crossing scene in Basic Instinct - says he doesn't think the film 'will be scandalous, at least not in Western Europe'
Benedetta premiered in the Cannes Film Festival yesterday to raving reviews - with critics dubbing it 'erotic, violent, religiously sinful and absurdist' and 'the best movie about Catholicism since Scorsese' Silence'.
This year's festival has been hyped as 'the reintroduction of Hollywood red carpet glamour' to fans after the global pandemic stopped movie-going and cost the film industry billions in lost revenue.
Benedetta - which the octogenarian director has dubbed his masterpiece - is based on a true story about an abbess of the same name in Renaissance Italy who had a lesbian fling within her convent while experiencing 'godly visions' and being hailed a saint.
Benedetta is played by Belgian actress and former television presenter Virginie Efira. Her lover is portrayed by Daphne Patakia, another Belgian starlet.
The film is the story of a 17th century French nun who embarks upon an affair with another sister (pictured)
The cast of Benedetta are pictured, left to right: Clotilde Courau, Olivier Rabourdin, Virginie Efira, director Paul Verhoeven, Daphne Patakia and Louise Chevillotte
The script was based on historian Professor Judith C. Brown's Immodest Acts: The Life Of A Lesbian Nun In Renaissance Italy, which was published in 1986.
Verhoeven told The Hollywood Reporter: 'I don’t think the film will be scandalous — at least not in Western Europe.
'Maybe Americans will see it differently, though. There is more puritanism in the US - I saw that with Basic Instinct, and even more with Show Girls.'
The trailer alone has caused consternation and cinemas are braced for protests.
In the video - which is less than two minutes long - a young novice nun takes a shower, her modesty 'protected' by only the flimsiest of transparent gauze curtains.
As the film's lead character enters – in habit and wimple – the young nun 'slips', causing Benedetta to instinctively reach out, almost touching the novice's naked breast before recoiling in pious shame.
A producer who works for one of the biggest studios in Hollywood said of the film: 'Benedetta is competing for the Grand Prize at Cannes and it will have its world premiere there. It's the centrepiece of the festival.
'Sure it's controversial but sex sells. At this point the studios have to get people back into movie theatres. It's a matter of survival.
'What better than a bit of titillating nunsploitation?'
The film (pictured) contains scenes of lesbian sex, self-flagellation, nun- on-nun kissing and nudity
One Hollywood PR told The Mail on Sunday: 'You only have to look at the trailer for Benedetta.
'There's a graphic sex scene, nudity, flogging, titillation. This is Basic Instinct with
