Paradise: Faith

Following on from the lusty and drama-filled escapades of Kenya in Paradise: Love, Ulrich Seidl’s second instalment of his trilogy reverts back to Austria where devout Christian, Anna Maria (Maria Hofstaetter) fills her summer break with missionary work.

Anna’s disturbing pseudo-sexual preoccupation with religion is revealed in her private time, which she spends praying and sharing her thoughts with God, while periodically subjecting herself to brutal bouts of flagellation. The unwanted arrival of her Egyptian Muslim and mobility-impaired husband Nabil (non-professional Nabil Saleh) sullies her haven of purity, yet her faith demands she accept him into her bed and tend to his day-to-day needs. Tensions between the two escalate before a shocking yet comical climax prompts Anna to query the validity of her beliefs.

The third and concluding part of Ulrich Seidl’s Paradise trilogy. Melanie is sent off to an unwelcoming fat farm, while her mother is off exploring the illicit temptations on Kenya’s sun-soaked beaches (in Paradise: Love) and her aunt spreads God’s word through door to door missionary work (in Paradise: Faith).

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