The Cannes seeded player who has waited for four years is finally here

Yes, this time Paul Verhoeven's new film is really coming.

Starring Virginie Efira and Charlotte Rampling, her new work "The Madonna" has been selected for the main competition of the 2021 Cannes Film Festival and will have its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival.

During the four years from 2017 to 2021, due to the director's illness and the new crown epidemic, the film process was interrupted twice, and even the official trailer was very difficult to wait.

The Madonna is adapted from Judith Brown's Misconduct: ItalianA nun in the Renaissance, This book organizes and tells a true story that happened in the 17th century, and is also the earliest recorded in the West. The case of "Nun's Love".

Lesbianism, religious taboos, explicit erotica... These keywords have been lingering around the movie for a long time, even Gerard Sotman, the old partner who wrote eight screenplays for Verhoeven, voluntarily quit the project, The scale of the Madonna can be imagined.

"The Madonna" Trailer Screenshot

Many people say this is another "Ji film of the year", but I am afraid it will not be so simple.

Because Paul Verhoeven is neither Todd Haynes nor Celine Sciamma, it would be a bit underwhelming to say that he is closer to Abdai Koschich in the " male perspective" Paul Verhoeven.

Abday Cauchy's "The Life of Adele"

Paul Verhoeven is a paradox. On the one hand, he is a realist who is trying to reproduce the truth of life, but on the other hand, he seems to be able to use it in the shadows of his works A glimpse of his fanatical imagination of religion .

The nun Benedetta in "The Virgin" is a female dreamer. She is good at "supernaturalizing" the world around her since she was a child. She phantom serves God, dedicated to God, chosen by God, married to God, acting as an agent God, incarnated male angels have sex with other nuns...

"The Virgin" trailer screenshot

Benedetta deduces the connection between herself and Jesus through illusions. A firm foothold in the Lord's hierarchy, and then become that kind of "privileged" female .

And then there's "eroticism", Paul Verhoeven loves to show sex, love to show nudity, male or female.

From Sharon Stone's open legs in 'Instinct ' to the slightly obscene 'Showgirls' to 'The Madonna' trailer, you'll find blatant challenges like Paul Verhoeven There are not many directors of "Sexual Taboo".

"Instinct" screenshot

Because of these scenes that are both erotic and violent, Verhoeven is also regarded as a straight male director of misogyny, in fact, there is no need to deny the discomfort of watching these scenes, because in Paul Verhoeven's film The amount of disgusting rape scenes is indeed staggering in the film.

But how uses "sex" as a tool to use is worthy of careful discussion.

Paul Verhoeven is actually who uses rape as an infrastructure to show the flow of power , just like "Her", the heroine's revenge is not so specific, but for hidden power.

"She"The cat who witnesses the rape scene

In fact, Paul Verhoeven's camera also often openly displays male genitalia, large-scale scenes can be used to weaken male self-esteem, and women can also use "sexuality" as a fight against male oppression As the weapon of the attacker, can be guessed that the presentation of sex in "The Virgin" will definitely not be the kind of sex scene that sublimates emotion.

And there is a very important proposition in the original "Our Lady", that is, how the outside world viewed the sexual attraction and sexual behavior between women in the society at that time, and how to condemn such "blasphemy".

"The Madonna" trailer screenshot

At that time, the church punished gay sex more than heterosexual misconduct, and the existence of "lesbian" was completely erased. Because the emotions and desires between women are Unrecognized (probably similar to the "socialist sisterhood" with Chinese characteristics).

The worship of male genitalia makes them prefer to believe that lesbians are seduced by the devil, possessed by "male identity", and their coveting of male genitalia, rather than believe that there can be natural sexual attraction between women .

means that men can rape women, men can rape men, but women "do not have the ability (genital organs)" to rape women.

"The Madonna" trailer screenshot

The decay and limitations of thinking make it difficult for them to convict Benedetta, because if they had deprived women of their rights in advance, they would no longer have the position to accuse women of "abusing power". That is to say, if Benedetta is convicted of a felony, it is tantamount to indirectly acknowledging the power of women and humiliating the men in power.

Apparently, Benedetta is a very outlandish clever character , and it is her cunning talent that keeps the "lesbian history" of Christian society alive in a different way, while also throwing up an intriguing The question to think about is who is the tool of "God", and who is assessing the "will" of God.

"The Madonna" trailer screenshot

But Paul Verhoeven's film doesn't have to be considered a feminist manifesto, because the feminism in his films is not often associated with the outside world.

Like the heroine Michelle in Her, who refuses to be a victim after being raped and is not ashamed of being raped, she transforms the encounter into a sadomasochistic relationship and in the end "wins" ".

Viewers can see it as an alternative rebellion of female consciousness, but such a role does not represent all women, because "requesting revenge for raped women like Michelle" is a joke at all, but the preciousness of "Her" The point is that offers a possibility of crushing authority, and this crushing is extreme and thorough.

"Her" studio work photos

In fact, if there is no development of women's affirmative action in recent years, theme like "The Virgin" may not even be approved by a male director.

A long time ago Paul Verhoeven thought of making a film about Victoria Woodhull, a 19th century feminist who ran for US president, but the US studios didn't Ignore it.

Paul Verhoeven was different from many of his contemporaries, he was very direct, he would show whatever he wanted to show.

The gay plot in "The Fourth Man"

In many people's minds, Paul Verhoeven is synonymous with the entire Dutch film industry, but in fact his early films in the Netherlands were mostly art films with smaller budgets.

Realism is deeply ingrained in Dutch culture, and Verhoeven's 1971 debut, "Business Talking", conforms to this tradition, but at this time it is possible to find Verhoeven's teasing of the male gaze.

"Business Talk"

973's "Turkish Carnival" is the first of five collaborations between Rutger Hauer and Verhoeven in 12 years. It caused a sensation in China as soon as it was released. is said to have One in four Dutch people bought a movie ticket.

Turkish Carnival

By 1975's Katie the Whore, Paul Verhoeven was still honing his style.1977's "Green Years" is a World War II-themed film, but the later "Black Book" is actually more in-depth.

"Green Years"

"Turkish Carnival" and "Green Years" made Paul Verhoeven widely acclaimed in China, but 1980's "Breaking Wheel" has been unanimously criticized by local critics.

This soft porn movie has a rather negative worldview, teenagers who grow up have no future, only sexual violence, shattered dreams and death, people don't like this movie, this tension makes Paul Verhoeven very disappointed .

Controversial gay plot in "Flywheel"

983's Dutch thriller The Fourth Man was his last film before moving to Hollywood and it was this film that helped him win Here comes the opportunity from Hollywood.

"The Fourth Man" has long been seen as a prequel to "Instinct," which twists fear and fantasy, death and desire, and is also VerhoevenMost bisexually metaphorical film (Instinct also has bisexual metaphor).

"The Fourth Man"

985's "In Cold Blood" is Paul Verhoeven's first English-language film. It's a medieval theme, and the various themes involved are good but a little scattered, but it's still a masterpiece worth seeing.

is followed by " Robocop ", at first he had no interest in science fiction, but soon changed his opinion under the persuasion of his wife, because Verhoeven suddenly understood the failure of many European directors to succeed in the United States. The real reason is "they think they can do what they want in Hollywood".After

figured it out, there was this 1987 "Robocop". Before shooting, he was not a science fiction fan, but this film unexpectedly succeeded Paul Verhoeven, and became one of the Hollywood actors for nearly two decades. The pinnacle of his career.

Robocop on the set of 1987

Paul Verhoeven seems to have a rare ability to "see it and break it down", and he has successfully exploited America's frenzied consumerism and human nature's paranoia about sex, which makes him survived in the Hollywood film industry.

The subsequent Total Recall is also a testament to his ability to make Hollywood popcorn movies, which not only became one of the most lucrative films of the 90s, but also flexibly incorporates satire against totalitarianism and capitalism.

"Total Recall"

Paul Verhoeven analyzed his success at this stage. After coming to the United States, he always looked at American culture in a confused and prudent way, which included the freshness of first-timers. There is also anger and questioning, and he believes it is this "alienation" that makes his films, because it is easy to see through something from an outsider's point of view.

The satire of the TV media in RoboCop

Moreover, viewers often see some kind of continuity in the works before and after, not just the intertextuality of the text, but also the sublimation of the whole.

One of Paul Verhoeven's idols was Hitchcock, and his 1992 Instinct was a Hitchcockian film that blurred the lines between sex and violence and satirized male fantasies.

"Instinct"

"Instinct" is undoubtedly Paul Verhoeven's first work with a distinctly feminist temperament, and perhaps "The Virgin" will also absorb some of the core driving force from "Instinct".

However, his winning streak came to an end with 1995's "Showgirls," a film about a small-town girl lured into hell by the neon lights of Las Vegas , and it was all negative after its release reviews, and a box office flop.

Showgirls

Showgirls is the most maligned of all Paul Verhoeven films and holds the record for 13 Raspberry Award nominations (Verhoeven was the first to go to dinner to receive the award) people, very atmospheric).

Lighting, color, dialogue, shot scheduling... The audio-visual style of "Showgirls" gives a feeling of being empty and over-decorated, but in fact many scenes are based on real events and are not fabricated out of thin air.

"Showgirls"

But many years later, "Showgirls" was taken seriously by critics again, and was considered to be Verhoeven's high-level satire on American culture, and it was indeed a "film history injustice".

"Showgirls"

But even more failures await him after this unjust case.

997's " Starship Troopers " was originally Paul Verhoeven's envisioned "turn over", because he chose to return to his safe zone in Hollywood - science fiction. He adapted Robert Heinlein's Starship Paratroopers , a novel about the war between Earth's fleet and alien zerg.

"Starship Troopers"

The box office of this movie was not optimistic at the time, but it is regarded as a classic now. There are two reasons why

failed. First, Verhoeven shot it as a B-movie, rather than the standard Hollywood blockbuster that caters to the mainstream and soothes the audience's senses. And Verhoeven's attitude towards B-movies is also interesting, he mentions the Dutch contemporary artist Karel Appel (Karel Appel), whose works are anti-traditional and seem to simulate children's graffiti.

Karel Appel, Little Hip Hip Hourra, 1949

Verhoeven believes that the use of "banal" things in artistic creation to express artistic concepts has become very common, after all, music and painting have developed so far. But filmmaking has not been so lucky, and audiences and critics seem to find it difficult (or perhaps reluctant) to see through when directors use hyperbole, satire, and alienating cinematic techniques to make their point.

"Starship Troopers"

What's more tragic is that the audience made malicious speculations about the director through the details of the film, which is the second reason for the complete failure of "Starship Troopers".

In fact, Paul Verhoeven hates "Starship Paratroopers" very much. In order to mock the fascist tendencies in the original book more concretely, he simulated and built a fascist utopia in the film. Arrogant white archetype, let these heroic sons and daughters transport audiences into an militaristic future.

"Starship Troopers"

In this fascist utopia, young people are encouraged to join the mobile infantry to save the world, people are taught that "violence is absolute authority", it can be said that these young people in the film are completely the product of Nazi propaganda .

So on the surface, Starship Troopers seems to be a battle to defend the earth, but it is actually a direct criticism of right-wing militarism and fascism.

"Starship Troopers" demonizes the alien species in the promotional film

But the interpretation of the film by authoritative film critics at the time went to the other extreme, Paul Verhoeven was for a long time regarded as a hidden "Nazi" ", because he made those sensitive topics that could not be easily contaminated so obvious that people thought it was his "voice".

What is more dramatic is that now "Starship Troopers" has not only been rehabilitated, but also regarded as a "prophecy", because after the 9/11 incident, people suddenly understood what the movie was about. Earlier, few people noticed that these creatures The only reason to attack Earth is for humans to try to colonize their planet.

"Starship Troopers" opening recruitment video "They are all contributing, how about you?"

000, " Transparent Man " drew a successful end to the long-distance love run between Paul Verhoeven and Hollywood, and the box office was not bad. But Verhoeven was fed up with everything here because Hollywood had abandoned narrative conventions in favor of "creating spectacles" to attract audiences, which completely lost his interest.

The Transparent Man

006's Black Book was Verhoeven's second film about the Nazis and the Dutch resistance after The Green Years (the fourth to be exact, along with the earlier documentary Anton The Portrait of Misset" and the short film "Voorbij, voorbij").

He likes to call the film an attempt to return to "reality," because "Black Book" excavates a darker World War II, while "Green Years" is more heroic, even a little patriotic.

"Black Book"

Since then, everyone is familiar with "She" in 2016, a story of female revenge that is both straightforward and twisted. Then again to today's "The Virgin", we actually already have enough material to imagine this new work, because "The Virgin" is simply Paul Verhoeven's "exclusive theme".

is "religion" first. Paul Verhoeven was not a Christian, but he was obsessed with Jesus, and he had a strong interest in religion and mysticism from an early age. His films are often filled with religious symbols, but he does not view God through the lens of theology, but interprets the image of God from history. He sees Jesus as an "ordinary man" and believes that Jesus can be a dirty villain, and the role of Jesus can be played by anyone.

"The Madonna" set

The most obvious is " Robocop ", Murphy is the incarnation of Jesus, Verhoeven buried two metaphors "Paradise Lost" and "Jesus Resurrection" in him.

"Robocop"

"The Fourth Man" also uses religious symbols, and a spider is climbing on a cross in the opening sequence, which already hints at the fate of the hero.

"The Fourth Man"

"Instinct" Michael Douglas's character is a replica of "Jesus' obedience in suffering", but he is obedient to "sex", and the way he is bound can also be associated with to the picture of Jesus being tied to the cross.

"Instinct"

For Paul Verhoeven, the spiritual and mysterious religious element is the premise of his connection to "realism". In order to avoid falling into sectarianism, he consciously closed the "door of perception" (see Huxley ), to be wary of the subconscious corruption of reason, and this fear of infatuation prompted him to take the initiative to approach the real world and pragmatism, so as not to fall into Nietzsche-like madness.

"Starship Troopers"

Even if he was shooting popcorn blockbusters in Hollywood, he did not compromise too much. What's even more rare is that Paul Verhoeven has never made a sequel to any successful predecessor, which is the case with most really good directors.

Compared with those heart-pounding gimmicks, what makes us more curious is how Paul Verhoeven will adapt the original "The Virgin", and then we will come back to this new film for a more accurate interpretation.

and: The Gyro 2021 Cannes final prediction everyone is waiting for is coming soon, please look forward to it!