Skip to main content

Is there an exorcist in the house?

Awarded the Golden Lion in the Orizzonti section of the 73rd Venice Film Festival, Federica Di Giacomo’s 2016 “Liberami” (Deliver Us) has become one of the most talked about documentaries of recent years.

It is a film about the practice of exorcism that explores the contrasts between ancient traditions and modern challenges. Di Giacomo tells the story with a hint of comedy, but that lightheartedness is overshadowed by the profound suffering of people desperately searching for answers.

Her third feature film after having made several shorts, “Liberami” put Di Giacomo on the map. After its award-winning debut in Venice, it went on to garner accolades around the world.

The Catholic Church has long trained exorcist priests to respond to the phenomenon of demonic possession. One of them is Fr. Cataldo, whom the film follows along with those who attend his masses in search of a cure for their inner demons.

The film opens with a woman sitting on a chair in a chapel as Fr. Cataldo anoints her with holy water. He then puts his hand on her head and prays. The woman immediately begins to scream obscenities in the voice of Satan. “Leave me alone. She’s mine now. Leave me alone,” she yells.

Father Cataldo then visits a church in Palermo, where a long line of people wait to see him. Many are turned away and will have to come back the next day. When they get their chance to speak with him, they talk to him like they would to a psychologist rather than a priest. They blame their misfortunes on Satan. In some cases, Fr. Cataldo agrees. In the case of one depressed housewife, he tells her that her problem is more likely psychological than spiritual. He asks a man convinced his bad luck is spiritual, “Did you try to live in the grace of God at least when you could?” The man replies, “I try, Father, but it’s hard.”

Later, the priest visits a woman with a nagging cough. He sits with her and her family. The woman is fidgeting and clearly uneasy. As he starts to pray with them, the woman becomes more uneasy. As he puts his hand on her head, she begins to lose control. The family members gather around her and try to keep her still. She falls to the floor, and he anoints her with holy water. She weeps, they all say a Hail Mary and she appears to be healed.

Fr. Cataldo then holds a public mass for these people, and during his exhortation to Satan to leave them alone, a boy breaks into an outburst and the priest speaks directly to the demon within. “Go away Satan.” The boy then screams uncontrollably. Father Cataldo responds, “Be quiet. It’s God ordering you to leave.” The yelling continues. “Get the cross,” says the priest. A cross is held over the boy while Fr. Cataldo continues to drive the devil away. The outburst spreads, and some are forced to retreat to a designated room where they are all trying to regain their composure. At times, it’s difficult to watch. Whatever is causing these people to lose control, they are undoubtedly suffering very much.

During an interview at Toronto’s Hot Docs festival, where Di Giacomo presented the film in 2017, she commented on the atmosphere of the film. It seems to capture “Sicily of another era,” she said, and yet the subject of exorcism is quite relevant today. “The phenomenon is really contemporary. The film is about the future more than the past. This is a growing phenomenon, and it is something that is becoming bigger.” 

“Deliver Us” is available on several streaming platforms including Tubi, Apple TV, YouTubeAmazon Prime Video via Freevee, Vudu and Google Play Movies & TV. Di Giacomo’s latest film, “Il palazzo” (Unfinished), had its North American premiere earlier this year at Lincoln Center’s annual series Open Roads: New Italian Cinema. We’ll keep you posted on its stateside distribution.

-Written by Jeannine Guilyard for the November 2022 issue of Fra Noi Magazine. Click here to subscribe.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Anthology Film Archives Presents: The Italian Connection: Poliziotteschi and Other Italo-Crime Films of the 1960s and '70's

June 19 – June 29 Influenced both by 1960s political cinema and Italian crime novels, as well as by French noir and American cop movies like "Dirty Harry" and "The French Connection," many Italian filmmakers in the late-60s and early-70s gradually moved away from the spaghetti western genre, trading lone cowboys for ‘bad’ cops and the rough frontier of the American west for the mean streets of modern Italy. Just as they had with their westerns, they reinvented the borrowed genre with their inimitable eye for style and filled their stories with the kidnappings, heists, vigilante justice, and brutal violence that suffused this turbulent moment in post-boom 1970s Italy. The undercurrent of fatalism and cynicism in these uncompromising movies is eerily reminiscent of the state of discontent in Italy today. ‘The Italian Connection’ showcases the diversity and innovation found in the genre, from the gangster noir of Fernando Di Leo’s "Caliber 9" ...

The Timeless Talent of Stefania Sandrelli

On screen since the tender age of 14, she has captivated audiences for more than 50 years with a compelling combination of strength and vulnerability. She achieved stardom at just 14 years old playing the angelic cousin of a love-struck Marcello Mastroianni in Pietro Germi’s “Divorce Italian Style.” More than half a century later, she is still going strong and remains one of Italy’s most esteemed actors. Stefania Sandrelli was born on June 5, 1946, in Viareggio in the province of Lucca in northern Italy. As a child, she studied music and dance. Then in 1960, she won a beauty pageant and was featured on the cover of Le Ore magazine. Her purity captivated the country and shortly thereafter, movie offers began pouring in. Just one year later, she made her cinema debut in three feature films: Mario Sequi’s Gioventù di notte , Luciano Salce’s The Fascist, and Pietro Germi’s Divorce Italian Style . She instantly became a star and before long was a key figure in Italy’s legend...

The Sweetness and Genius of Giulietta Masina

Fellini and Masina on the set of "La Strada" As open-hearted and sunny as Federico Fellini was dark and complex, they were perfect counterpoints during a half-century of marriage and professional collaboration.  Nicknamed a  “female Chaplin” and described by Chaplin himself as  the actress who moved him most,  Giulietta Masina confronted the tragedy of her characters with an eternal innocence and enthusiasm that gave Italians hope in the most challenging of times.  Born in 1921 in San Giorgio di Piano, a commune north of Bologna, Masina was the oldest of four children born to a father who was a music professor and violinist and a mother who was a grade-school teacher. Her parents sent her as a child to live in Rome with her widowed aunt while she attended school there. As Masina took an early interest in gymnastics, her aunt saw in her a passion for performing and encouraged her to pursue acting. So after high school, Masina attended Rome’s La...

A Conversation with Actor Mirko Frezza of David di Donatello Winner "Il più grande sogno"

The 2017 David di Donatello award show, which took place on Monday, was an exciting event that celebrated many great contemporary talents of Italian cinema.  I was fortunate to have seen most of the nominees.  Among my personal favorites  is Michele Vannucci's  Il più grande sogno  simply because it is based on one of the most inspiring, beautiful stories I've ever  heard, and the person behind that story is as authentic and down-to-earth as they come. The film won the 3 Future Award, which is determined by the public. With Director Michele Vannucci and Actor Mirko Frezza I first saw  Il più grande sogno last September when it premiered at the Venice Film Festival. I didn't make it to Venice, but thanks to a great online platform called Festival Scope , which offers a handful of premieres to be screened on the web, I felt like I was there. The film itself blew me away, and then when I realized it was based on a true story, I knew t...

Federico Fellini: A Look into the Life and Career of an Icon

A Fellini family portrait  “The term became a common word to describe something on the surface you can say is bizarre or strange, but actually is really like a painter working on a film,” said Martin Scorsese when asked to define “Felliniesque,” an adjective inspired by one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. The oldest of three children, Federico Fellini was born in the seaside town of Rimini in 1920. His father was a traveling salesman, so his mother was left to do the bulk of raising the children. One can argue that Fellini was born for his destiny. “You could tell that even as a child, he was different and unique. He was very intelligent, well above average. He was always the one to organize things, direct the others, make up games. He could control the other kids with just a look, said Fellini’s sister, Maddalena, in an interview with journalist Gideon Bachmann.  Not only was Fellini directing the children, but he was also putting on shows and charging ...