A stunning directorial comeback, Marco Bellocchio’s darkly comic marvel won Michel Piccoli and Anouk Aimée top acting prizes at Cannes. Paralleling familial dysfunction with societal ills, this acerbic exploration of monstrous masculinity dares to expose the moral rot of Italy’s legislative system.

Winner of the FIPRESCI award, this haunting portmanteau from director Marco Bellocchio is a shrewd social commentary steeped in striking gothic imagery. Set in a convent-prison, the film shifts from past to present, crafting a story that is a love letter to Italy’s past and a critique of its stasis.