The Devils

there's so much to unpack this is one of the most beautiful films i've ever watched, i think it does a terrific job at criticizing religion, especially the church and how it's just become a tool for power hungry men to gain power and control. i genuinely cannot express how much i loved this film, grandier is such a great character and i think using him (a priest) to show the dangers of purity culture and the terrible effects it has on people's mental health was genius. he was not an entirely innocent man, he was barely a good example of a godly man but he was still such a relatable and likeable character. ken russell does such a great job at showing the viewer the issues with society, religion and politics and i fear you cannot make art without disturbing a few. i lovee this sm and the best part of it is that i watched it thinking that the themes in this film remind me so much of my favourite metal band of all time (belphegor) and i literally freaked out when i finally heard a line that's been sampled by the band before and i think just that alone made this film super perfect for me. i just love when disturbing cinema is done right and isn't just a bunch of pretentious crap put together for shock value, i can understand how this would be disturbing for someone else but it's really just the reality of religion, the state and human nature. hysteria is something that's to be expected when you live in a society that expects you to restrain and denounce human desires as some devilish influence. i love it not the mention every performance was amazing, the actors were incredible! , the colour palette is beautiful, the dialogue is blasphemous, this is truly a work of art, cinematic brilliance.