Paul Verhoeven’s “Benedetta,” about a nun embarking on a scandalous affair with another nun, offended many viewers and sparked protests in several countries. But it didn’t offend its lead Virginie Efira, now at Locarno to pick up the Leopard Club Award.
“Was it fun? Yes. I liked that. In France, it’s as if God is dead. In the US, well, he’s less dead,” she tells Variety, recalling the controversy.
“In the past, people would get so angry about films. They would fight over Maurice Pialat!” When Pialat won Cannes’ Palme d’Or for “Under the Sun of Satan,” the decision was met with boos.
“Now, everyone is so polite. They clap for 15 minutes, even if they don’t like the film. I’m not expecting everyone to love my films and ‘Benedetta’ was very divisive. So many people love it, and so many don’t understand it at all. You could actually sense that in Cannes. At one point, Paul asked me: ‘Do you think it’s going to be O.K’?”
Efira wasn’t worried, however.
