By Moya Zhao
Dear Kyle Buchanan,
I have finished reading your article on Lesbian nuns and how the director of ‘Show Girls’ has reacted to it and first of all, I want to applaud you for being able to maintain your tone throughout the entire article. At first glance, I had thought that this was a lighthearted, jocular essay, and I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of information provided.
I was able to learn many things from this article such as the origins of the films, the religious commentary and many of the events that occurred surrounding the situation. It was surprisingly interesting to read about this and it was also fascinating to see them talking about their experiences on set. Benedetta seems like a strange yet nevertheless interesting film and the way you wrote about it definitely only enthralled me even more. This was looked at in many different aspects and it was very well written as well. It felt like a very fair report and the quotes made it so that I saw both perspectives.
Reading it, I couldn’t help but wonder the reason why this was written in the first place. It almost seemed like an absurd topic even if I personally enjoyed reading it a lot. Did you particularly like or dislike this film? Was it written for another reason?
I don’t specifically have any opinions about this situation because I haven’t actually watched this film and can not say whether or not it is offensive because I’m not religious. However, based on the many critiques I have seen, it has been seen as both very good and really bad. Certain critics called it ‘steamy’ and ‘enthralling’ while others just offensive. I also think that the summary was interesting but not something I want to watch anytime soon.
I enjoyed this more than you may know, and it’s admirable how you were able to interest me in something I would have never cared for.
Sincerely,
Moya Zhao
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/benedetta
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1hiI9sx6UldYA_H8aFzQI6Nvc5Sxa6JwO