On Sunday, September 26, in the United States, within the framework of the New York Film Festival, a new film by American and Dutch director Paul Verhoeven “Temptation” was shown.

Before the session began, a group of Catholic protestors gathered outside Lincoln Center, where the event was organized.

They played drums and bagpipes and held posters urging people to stop "offending God."

Someone from the audience brought a banner with the question: "Why is Jesus endlessly insulted?"

IndieWire managing editor Christian Blauvelt, who witnessed the protest, explained on Twitter that Catholics are "unhappy with the 'blasphemous' portrayal of nuns and Catholicism."

“They say“ Ave Maria ”over and over again into megaphones.

A good advertisement for the film! ”- writes the journalist.

He noted that this is the first public Catholic protest at the New York Film Festival since 1999, when Kevin Smith's film "Dogma" was presented at the screening.

In it, filmmakers also touch upon various aspects of religion, and they do it in a comedic manner.

Walked past this group of ~ 20 protestors to get to my 3:00 pm screening at Alice Tully Hall.

The movie?

BENEDETTA.

And they are upset about its “blasphemous” portrayal of nuns and Catholicism.

They're repeatedly saying Hail Mary's into megaphones.

Good publicity for the movie!

pic.twitter.com/BPpf7Rjblu

- Christian Blauvelt (@ctblauvelt) September 26, 2021

The Temptation is based on the book Immodest Acts: The Life of a Lesbian Nun in Renaissance Italy by Judith S. Brown.

The main character is the nun Benedetta Carlini, tormented by disturbing religious and erotic dreams.

She eventually becomes romantically involved with her spiritual sister.

According to IndieWire, in the cinema before the premiere, the program director of the festival, Dennis Lim, thanked the protesters and stressed that "Verhoeven is never provocative without some goal."

One of the screenwriters of the film, David Birk, in turn, said that he was ready to parse every line of the script to prove that the story presented on the screen was not his invention.

Judith S. Brown's book is based on real archival documents detailing lesbian relationships within the walls of a 17th century Italian monastery. In his painting, Paul Verhoeven sheds light on the fate of an influential person who went from a respected nun to a woman who was put on trial for adultery and possession by the devil. The director explores sensitive topics such as religion, sexuality and political intrigue in the church.

Interestingly, to work on the script for the film, Paul Verhoeven brought in his longtime collaborator Gerard Suteman.

Together, the filmmakers have worked on many films, including "Deal is Deed", "Kitty-twinkling", "Clockwork", "Soldiers of the Queen", "The Fourth Man", "Black Book".

This time, however, Suteman refused to collaborate with a colleague due to the fact that the film is too focused on sexual relations.

  • Shot from the movie "Temptation"

  • © kino-teatr.ru

In Russia, the premiere of "Temptation" was scheduled for October 7, 2021, but on September 18, it became known that the picture would not be released on large screens in the country.

The Ministry of Culture refused to issue a rental certificate to the film due to the inconsistency of the project with the federal laws of Russia.

"The film contains a scene of provocative content, which is regarded as a violation of the legislation on freedom of conscience, freedom of religion and religious associations," TASS quoted a ministry spokesman as saying.

The Temptation premiered at the Cannes International Film Festival in July 2021.

The film entered the main program and was warmly received by critics.

One expert notes that Verhoeven's new project is a rich, complex, but dynamic drama.

Another believes that the picture summarizes all of the director's ideas about eroticism, rationality, moral ambiguity and faith.

The main role in the film was played by the Belgian actress Virginie Efira, known for the films Pretend to be my boyfriend, Love is out of size, Unsinkable.

Charlotte Rampling (Melancholy, Restless Anna), Daphne Patakia (Jam), Lambert Wilson (Catwoman, The Interpreters) also starred in the film.