Divine Love

The sexiest film at this year’s Berlinale, an eccentric vision of the future that should appeal to fans of Gaspar Noé and Andrzej Żuławski. Brazil in the year 2027. Although society has become radically conservative, there is undoubtedly a feeling of sensuality in the air. Joana, a middle-aged, God-fearing office worker who is trying to solve her marital problems at Divino Amor group therapy, is aware of this paradox. The group’s popularity is the result of its unconventional methods for healing interpersonal relationships—methods that alter the lives of its members forever. In Divine Love, 35-year-old director Gabriel Mascaro (Neon Bull) confirms his status as a visionary and one of the bright lights in contemporary artistic cinema. The South American artist offers a fresh take on the age-old, perverse relationship between religion and sex, while also proving that he can show this in a visually interesting way. The mesmerizing, neon-lit Brazil of the future that we see on-screen creates the impression of a place simultaneously terrifying and oddly enticing.