Devil in the Flesh

Devil in the Flesh follows Giulia, a woman in a fraught relationship with her fiancé, who is in prison for his involvement with a radical political movement. She spends much of her time in court to show him support. Meanwhile, Andrea, a high school student, notices her from his classroom window and becomes obsessed with her. She initially keeps her distance, but the two begin an affair, drawing disapproval from her family and from his father, who happens to be her psychologist.

Marco Bellocchio directed this Italian-French drama, working from a screenplay he wrote with Ennio De Concini and producing with Leo Pescarolo. The film is a loose, contemporary reworking of Raymond Radiguet's novel, moving the story into a modern Italian setting amid the political turmoil of the era. Maruschka Detmers plays Giulia, with Federico Pitzalis as Andrea, and the supporting cast includes Anita Laurenzi, Alberto Di Stasio, Riccardo De Torrebruna and Catherine Diamant.

The film runs 114 minutes and was released in April 1986. It holds a rating of 5.6 out of 10 on IMDb from roughly 2,200 votes, and the same average on TMDB from a much smaller base of 83 votes, suggesting modest and limited viewer approval rather than wide acclaim. It stands early in Bellocchio's filmography, preceding features such as The Butterfly's Dream, Vincere and The Traitor.