#44. The Monk
Director: Dominik Moll
Producers: Alvaro Longoria and Michel Saint-Jean
Distributor: Rights Available.
The Gist: An adaptation of classic from Mathew Gregory Lewis published in 1796, the story concerns Capucin Ambrosio (Cassel) – a pious, well-respected monk in Spain – and his violent downfall. He is undone by carnal lust for his pupil, a woman disguised as a monk (Matilda), who tempts him to transgress, and, once satisfied by her, is overcome with desire for the innocent Antonia. Using magic spells Matilda aids him in seducing Antonia, whom he later rapes and kills. Matilda is eventually revealed as an instrument of Satan in female form, who has orchestrated Ambrosio’s downfall from the start.….(more)
Cast: Vincent Cassel, Geraldine Chaplin and Déborah François
List Worthy Reasons…: I consider myself a huge fan of Dominik Moll – his last pair of films in With a Friend Like Harry (2000) and Lemming (2005) weren’t on many other top ten lists but I dug them both. I have to admit though, while I could speak highly about his lead actor in Vincent Cassel, I’m perplexed by the chosen material the filmmaker selected for his next project.
Release Date/Status?: Cannes is looking quite good right now…(perhaps an Out-of-Competition slot) but I could easily see this in Sitges as well (after-all it was filmed in Spain).
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