The Devils (1971)

The Devils by Ken Russell is a work of auteur cinema that uses a historical episode of collective hysteria to construct a political critique of power and institutional hypocrisy. The problem is not the film's intellectual ambition, but its form: Russell resorts to extreme provocation, combining graphic violence (torture, immolation) with explicit and blasphemous sexuality. The scenes of the supposedly possessed nuns are among the most disturbing in cinema, presenting full nudity and sexual acts in a sacred context that constitute a direct profanation. The representation of the clergy is largely negative, though the protagonist (the priest Grandier) is presented as the victim of a political conspiracy. The film has artistic merit as a document of its era and as a critique of fanaticism, but its narrative vehicle makes it absolutely unsuitable for any family context. The violence is visceral, the sexual content is explicit and blasphemous, and the combined effect is disturbing. Not recommended under any circumstances for parents seeking edifying or appropriate content to share. It is extreme adult cinema that requires a strong constitution and mature judgment.