Mubi binge: Pride Month Edition
Benedetta (Paul Verhoeven, 2021) Boléro (Nans Laborde-Jourdàa, 2023) Shakedown (Leilah Weinraub, 2018)
I was tired on Saturday, so I spent the day rotting in bed watching movies. Rather surprisingly, I went in entirely for a selection of arty, explicit offerings currently streaming on MUBI UK, a platform that regularly threatens me with a good time.
First up, an auteurist offering from the king of 90s controversy, Paul Verhoeven. I must inform all of you that I saw Basic Instinct (Verhoeven, 1992) as a teenager, and recently revisited it. One of the original erotic thrillers, Basic Instinct has many touches of giallo in its bloody kills and (for North American audiences) its sexual explicitness, clearly depicting sex acts such as cunnilingus and mild BDSM which would have felt unusual outside the boundaries of pornography or certain much-remarked upon music videos (such as Madonna’s Justify My Love or Duran Duran’s earlier The Chauffeur).
In Basic Instinct, Catherine Trammell (Sharon Stone) is described as “the fuck of the century.” This line is delivered by a naked Micheal Douglas to Roxy, Catherine’s other primary lover. And yet, there is also a great deal of (male) anger and anxiety about Catherine—the power afforded by her wealth, her prestigious university education, by her confidence, and by her unrepentant sexuality that actively rejects monogamy and reproduction. On more than one occasion, her educational status is actively linked with her sexuality and desirability as “suma cum laude pussy.” Verhoeven has long been a director who is interested in offering up roles for women where sexuality and desire play a major role. We see this across Basic Instinct, Showgirls (1995), and Black Book (2006). In this respect, Benedetta is no exception to this consistent motif and in many ways it feels like a lesbian sequel to Ken Russell’s The Devils. There are certainly touches of camp here, though it does not veer into the hilarious territory of Almodovar’s Dark Habits (1983), opting instead for an atmosphere of intensity that settles somewhere between The Devils, Black Narcissus, and nunsploitation.
The aromas of Benedetta are incense, candle wax, straw, wine, shit, and cum. Verhoeven’s commitment to the visceral is everywhere, and therefore those with misophonia should probably avoid this film where the sound of shitting with gusto, wet pussy, and eating meat all make appearances. The fact that Benedetta (Virginie Efira) and Bartolomea (Daphne Patakia) first begin their relationship in the convent bathroom tells us something, since it moves from an intentionally sensual shower to the privy, which is not unlike the blocked toilet stall where we first meet Lou (Kristen Stewart) in Rose Glass’ Love Lies Bleeding. I suspect the foley artists on this picture probably have some stories. Let me just say that when it comes to depicting sex on screen outside of porn it’s customary to hear moans, grunts, and other vocalisations. But rarely do we encounter films that attend to the other sounds that the body makes: the smack of flesh, or the sounds of lubrication, of juiciness. Benedetta rather surprisingly attends to this aspect of the sex that Benedetta and Bartolomea have together. Much like The Devils, this is a story about how desire is perceived as a threat to power structures, so while Nuncio (Lambert Wilson), the Pope’s representative can flaunt his pregnant mistress as she squirts breast milk at Sister Felicita (Charlotte Rampling, who is magnificent as always), Benedetta and Bartolomea’s queer desire and power alliance are deemed too threatening.
Nans Laborde-Jourdàa’s glorious 17 minute short won the Queer Palm for Short Film at Cannes in 2023. A solo, flamenco-inflected performance by Fran (François Chaignaud) to Ravel’s famously sensuous composition becomes a liberating spectacle viewed from inside a toilet cublicle by a series of voyeurs that swell to become a sweaty and enthralled audience.
After witnessing this dance, the audience members depart to embark on their own erotic, alfresco frolics. This short made me feel total joy, particularly as it includes a wide set of participants in terms of age, race, and gender expression. The threesome on the football pitch is a particular highlight. Also, I did NOT know how much I needed the word ‘coquin’ in my vocabulary.
Finally, I watched Leilah Weinraub’s incredible documentary, Shakedown (2018) which pieces together the story of a series of lesbian club nights run by and for Black women in the late 90s and early 2000s Los Angeles. With an astonishing array of footage it features interviews with some of the dancers, club flyers, behind the scenes in the dressing room, and what the dancers do on the floor. These are strip clubs, but not as portrayed in Hustlers. This is some of the most compelling lap dance and floor work you’ve ever seen, performed by women who embody stud and femme personas. YOU CAN WATCH THE WHOLE THING ON VIMEO FOR FREE? Seriously, in the words of Niven Govinden, “respect your legends” and go watch the whole thing right now. A remarkable act of preserving the queer archive right here. Also, the phrase “They call me Slow Wine, and the music makes me groove” lives rent free in my brain now.
Glorious as always! Feel like I need to spend a few days in bed, enjoying these films also.