No Other Gods But Me
2023 · 10m · USA
Directed by Alex Spott
Genres: coming-of-age, drama, LGBTQ+
Tones: contemplative, sensual, tender
Mid-sexual-awakening, a devout teenager named Gemma finally screws up the nerve to kiss her crush. The film sits in the gap between catechism and craving.
Picked by Felix
The scouts
Catholic guilt is the only American film tradition we haven't squeezed dry — and this one finds a fresh drop. Spott trusts the audience to sit inside the shame without resolving it, which is rarer than it should be.
Teenage religious shame as erotic texture rather than problem-to-solve — early Sciamma with a rosary in the back pocket is a register I'll back.
Hyper-saturated visuals treating teenage religious shame as erotic texture rather than a problem to solve — that's a Sciamma-grade refusal to moralize. Sensuous comedy is rare and this conceit could be devastating.