Flavia the Heretic DVD Review

It’s 15th century Italy. Flavia (Florinda Bolkan) has been forced into a convent by her father. She questions her faith and why men have all the power, so to start a new life she runs away from the convent, but is soon captured and tortured for her sins. Another nun, Sister Agather (Maria Casares), shares Flavia's hatred of men, and together they crave rebellion. When muslims invade, the villagers flee, but Flavia and Agather rejoice, seeing it as their chance to be free from the shackles of Christianity. Flavia joins with the muslims and transforms herself from a downtrodden nun into a vicious bloodthirsty leader. Will the freedom from religious and patriarchal oppression last with her new-found muslim allies? Yeah right.

Loosely based on historic events; the muslim invasion of Italy and the martyrdom of 800 at Otranto, Flavia the Heretic has the beautifully shot locations, quality acting and superb score of a big budget historical movie, but with the violence, nudity and sex of a sleazy exploitation flick. The striking and enigmatic Florinda Bolkan is compelling as Flavia, giving one of the finest performances of her distinguished career.

There’s plenty of blasphemy to be enjoyed here, along with some bizarre hallucinogenic sequences, including a woman climbing inside a hollowed out hanging cow, while a group of naked men and women chow down on a similarly nude young woman lying on a table. Of course, there’s also the infamous skinning scene. Great stuff. A nunsploitation film, a feminist statement, and a real classic. S.J.T.

Flavia the Heretic. 1974

Directed by Gianfranco Mingozzi