The Devil in the Flesh

Marco Bellocchio's controversial remake of the 1947 film, updates the characters and, notably, displays the open sexuality that would not have been possible to show in the '40s. The story focuses on the steamy affair between a high school student named Andrea (Federico Pitzalis), and the enigmatic Giulia Dozza (Maruschka Detmers), a woman engaged to a political activist who is on trial for terrorist crimes. While the two leads at first seem playful in their exploration of each other, Andrea's infatuation is soon tested by Giulia's apparent madness. His father, a psychiatrist who is treating Giulia, advises his son to steer clear of her, but the boy doesn't listen. As in 1986's Betty Blue, which tells a similar tale, the reasons for the woman's unbalanced actions are never explained. Ultimately, the viewer feels cheated (though in Betty Blue, this fatal flaw is offset by the extraordinary style of the film). At times plodding, and often mystical, Devil in the Flesh has one redeeming factor: the performance by Detmers, a truly gifted actress, who is frighteningly believable as a woman on the edge of sanity. Orion is releasing this controversial film in two video versions, the original which was rated "X", and an edited "R"-rated version. The original features a brief, but explicit, fellatio scene. Libraries with large foreign video collections may want to consider this; for others not a necessary purchase. (R. Pitman)