Mubi Monday: The Five Devils (2022)

The second feature from director Léa Mysius, this is a big step up from her last work (Ava), although there's definitely connective tissue between the two works. Both films are about a child dealing with memories, and, to a certain degree, figuring out different ways to make things more ideal within their own environment.

Sally Dramé plays Vicky, a young girl who has a knack for identifying different scents. She tries to bottle different favourites, including scents belonging to her mother (Joanne, played by Adèle Exarchopoulos). Joanne isn't feeling as strongly connected as she once was to her partner/Vicky's father, Jimmy (Moustapha Mbengue), and things become more strained when Jimmy's sister, Julia (Swala Emati) comes to stay at their home after time spent in prison. While trying to figure out why things are changing around her, Vicky keeps working on collecting just the right scents, some powerful enough to help her visit and view the past, where she learns a lot more about the complicated relationship between Joanne, Julia, and Jimmy.

Once again working in collaboration with writer Paul Guilhaume, Mysius helps herself enormously this time around by being willing to take things even further, in cinematic terms, and by putting together an even more memorable cast. I should say now, however, that I have a slight bias towards Exarchopoulos, and consider her to be one of the absolute best actresses of her generation. 

Alongside Exarchopoulos (who is used brilliantly here, and I don't know if you're aware, but . . . . she's one of the absolute best actresses of her generation) you have others who try to hold their own beside her. Some work better than others, and the standout is young Dramé, managing to effectively portray a child with a special power who slides from typically childish play mode into a more determined and focused practitioner of her craft, intrigued by what she glimpses and seeking a way to dig even deeper towards hidden truths that may or may not be best left in the past. Emati does well, Mbengue less so (although he has the more thankless role), and there are good supporting turns from Patrick Bouchitey and Daphne Patakia, both embodying very different people that Joanne might want to get away from.

A deft blend of light and dark, magical realism crashing against depressing realism as a child watches an adult who is starting to seriously regret some of the roads that life has taken her down, The Five Devils is a well-realised study of a certain nexus point between parent and child. It looks at that strange time when any child starts to realise that their parents didn’t just arrive on the planet as fully-formed full-time caregivers, and the use of scent as a trigger/portal makes sense, because we all have those specific smells that can transport us back to a specific time and place. A brand of perfume, a mix of seawater and candy floss, Red Bull and vodka, etc, etc. All of those things, and many more, can cause a strong reaction in your memory muscles, and anyone reading this will have a number of triggers that will take them right back to a specific childhood treat or tribulation. 

While there are moments that I wish were handled a bit better here, particularly the last few scenes, this easily does well enough to deserve your attention. And it’s a substantial next step in what is becoming a very interesting filmography from Léa Mysius.

8/10

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Mubi Monday: Benedetta (2021)

It's been a while since I've actually watched a new Paul Verhoeven movie, despite the fact that I own both Black Book and Elle, two films that had very good reviews when released. Benedetta was just impossible to resist though, being the story of a nun who develops a reputation for her religious visions, as well as an erotic relationship with another woman.

Based on a book by Judith C. Brown that surely drew Verhoeven to it like a moth to a lightbulb, titled "Immodest Acts: The Life Of A Lesbian Nun In Renaissance Italy", Benedetta may have the lurid plot synopsis and plot elements that seem designed to surely titillate viewers, but it allows for Verhoeven to work in his typically subversive style, confidently and maturely exploring ideas of love, faith, and power in the hands of those who seek to manipulate a situation to best suit their own needs.

Virginie Efira plays Benedetta, a woman who has given her life to god since she was a small child. Occasionally butting heads with her Abbess (Charlotte Rampling), Benedetta finds herself confused and succumbing to a healthy does of pleasures of the flesh when she convinces the convent to take in a young woman named Bartolomea (Daphne Patakia). Then there's a case of stigmata, which leads to a change in structure at the convent, as well as divided opinion of just how holy Benedetta might be.

Written by Verhoeven and David Birke (who worked with the director on Elle), Benedetta is a film you can take a number of different ways. There are times when it just feels like nunsploitation, that's true, but a lot of the film points out religious hypocrisy, and questioning why love and lust are such a great sin, especially when the person battling such "sin" is also apparently responsible for a lot of good. And there's an interesting look at just what constitutes a miracle or an act of god, considering how god is supposed to move through people. This is brought to the fore when Benedetta is questioned about the cause of her stigmata.

Of course, being a Verhoeven film, there's also more to dig into. The way those who purport to do good can be complicit in evil deeds by simply remaining silent is another important point, but there's also the double-standards that become more obvious when learning about the behaviour of those who place themselves as morally superior to all others.

Efira is excellent in the main role, a perfect mixture of innocence and possible deceit. I have been a fan of her since seeing In Bed With Victoria and Sybil (both recommended), and I went into this knowing that there would be at least one great performance. Rampling, someone who I think can be hit or miss, depending on the writing, also does great work. Her character is justifiably cynical, yet also tries often to do things as they should be done (in terms of the religious hierarchy). Patakia is a little bit weaker than the two more experienced actresses that she ends up working with, but she does well in conveying someone with a wild streak who has found the convent as a salvation, more than a calling. The other very important character in the whole story is played by Lambert Wilson, who is excellent at acting superior to everyone around him, looking to maintain control of people even as his grasp on the situation seems to become untenable.

Surprisingly tasteful throughout, and I realise I am saying this about a film in which a character uses a piece of religious iconography to craft a wooden dildo, Benedetta is a very well-made film that will only shock those who are more easily affected by nudity and any exploration of human sexuality. Sex isn't evil, it's not a sin, and the way it is used by those who want to take power away from Benedetta is typical of attitudes still disappointingly prevalent in modern society. 

9/10

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