LA PAPESSE
(THE POPESS or THE HIGH PRIESTESS; aka A WOMAN POSSESSED)
Dir. Mario Mercier, 1975
France. 94 min
In French with English subtitles

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 7 - MIDNIGHT
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 19 - 10 PM
MONDAY, OCTOBER 30 - 10 PM

CONTENT WARNING: This film contains violence against animals and depictions of rape.

Laurent and Aline are newlyweds. Laurent is a self-described artist who pines for a life of hedonism amongst the local sex cult, and to learn the teachings of its Popess. Aline? Not so much. They squabble over the direction of their lives. To Laurent’s dismay, the cult isn’t interested in only him, they want his wife as well. In order to overcome Aline’s reluctance, the cult begins a process to break her down including, but not limited to: flogging, drugs, imprisonment, branding, the male gaze, animal sacrifice, and a poison challenge akin to THE PRINCESS BRIDE’s Battle of Wits. A tale of warning for those who seek acceptance from the right crowd to further their art careers.

The cult’s Popess, from whom Laurent seeks absolution, is a dark-haired woman named Géziale, played by—get this—a mysterious woman named Géziale. She has no other on-screen credits and is purported to be an actual occultist leader. Is she real? At what point does the film blur between fiction and documentary? Are we seeing a retelling of the occult dabblings of director Mario Mercier and his initiation into a magical sect lead by the very same Géziale? Or is this just BLAIR WITCH levels of marketing and promotion?

With a firm grasp of the ritual practices of esotericism and occult magic, LA PAPESSE finds itself sitting comfortably within the venn diagram of psychedelica and S&M/fetish/power and domination play. Featuring quite inventive lo-fi camera and editing work that may be the film’s most redeeming and inspiring qualities. Mercier achieves beautiful images and sequences, some of which bring fellow magician Kenneth Anger’s oeuvre to mind.

Despite some of its more extreme contents, LA PAPESSE is often unfairly derided as euro-sleaze trash. This assessment was fueled by the French government’s censorship of the film upon its release. Originally pulled in its first week and re-released with an X rating (or the French equivalent?) back into the pornography theater circuit where it was not well received. Not sleazy enough for the porn theaters, but too sleazy for the general public. This censorship process seemingly ended Mercier’s short filmmaking career, with him choosing to shift his focus back to writing, painting and practicing shamanism.

And is it just me, or does the film’s theme music bear a remarkable resemblance to Wendy Rene’s After Laughter?