Paul Verhoeven’s Benedetta (2021) is a historical drama that boldly merges religious fervor with eroticism, telling the story of a 17th-century nun whose mystical visions coincide with a secret, intense sexual relationship with another woman in her convent. The film features prominent adult content, including scenes of nudity, sex, and religious symbolism that challenge traditional boundaries between the sacred and the sensual.
The erotic material in Benedetta is not just visual—it’s central to the film’s exploration of power, repression, and liberation. Sexual acts are interwoven with religious ecstasy, blurring the line between divine inspiration and carnal desire. This tension raises questions about the role of female agency, the policing of bodies, and the intersection of spirituality and sexuality.
Rather than framing the adult content as simply provocative, the film uses it to disrupt systems of control—whether patriarchal, institutional, or theological. The relationship between Benedetta and Bartolomea is depicted not only as physically passionate, but as politically charged, subverting expectations within both the convent and the broader religious hierarchy.
In Benedetta, adult content becomes a form of rebellion—against silence, submission, and the suppression of the self. It’s through eroticism that the characters confront truth, power, and the divine.
