Camera:
Martin GschlachtMuziek:
Anja PlaschgActeurs:
Anja Plaschg, Maria Hofstätter, David Scheid, Tim Valerian Alberti, Claudia Martini, Natalya Baranova, Elias Schützenhofer, Agnes Lampl, Camilla SchiliaSamenvattingen(1)
Upper Austria in 1750. A fish pond reflects the overcast sky. A deep, dark forest swallows the sunlight. On a hilltop, the corpse of a hanged woman is displayed. As an example. A warning. An omen? The deeply religious and highly sensitive Agnes regards the dead woman with pity. But also with longing: she feels like a stranger in the world of her husband Wolf, whom she has just married. It is an emotionally cold world consisting of work, chores and expectations. Agnes increasingly withdraws into herself. Her internal prison becomes ever more oppressive, her melancholy more overwhelming. Soon, her only way out seems to be a shocking act of violence. Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala create a profound and disturbing psychological portrait of a woman made of flesh and bone, sinew and soul, played by Anja Plaschg who, as Soap & Skin, also composed the score. Des Teufels Bad gives a voice to the peasant women who were invisible and unheard at that time and depicts their harsh daily lives defined by religious dogma and taboos whose impact resonates to this day. The film is based on historical court records about a shocking, previously unexplored chapter of European history. (Berlinale)
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Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz may be among the best directors in Austria, but their work is very art/slowburn, so they rarely hit my taste and this time it was again only halfway. There's an interesting period setting in the 18th century where traditions, rituals and rules were quite cruel and harsh. As a period historical drama it works quite well, but there are very few characters and unfortunately it doesn't try to tell a more interesting story and occasionally the filmmakers spice it up with a slightly more unpleasant scene, but it never really packs a punch (they could have easily shown that rape!!), the pace drags, nothing much happens (the main first hour is exhausting), so the rating is definitely decided for me. I was most impressed with the final ritual, it was decently sick, but nothing memorable. 5.5/10.
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A very brutal historical drama that revels in its naturalistic depiction of various strange rituals and superstitions of the time. I can't judge for myself how much of it is completely rooted in 18th century European reality, but really, what the hell going on here a few centuries ago? We meet the heroine, Agnes, on the supposed happiest day of her life, when she marries the affable fat man Wolf. But it soon becomes clear that her future life with him is not as rosy as she thought it would be. A dark cabin in the woods isn't exactly a Hilton hotel and fishing isn't exactly a dream job. And then there are the daily visits from her nagging mother-in-law, who also chides her for not getting pregnant, when the real reason for the absence of a pregnant belly is that her husband would much rather – if the social conventions of the time allowed it – devote himself to a guy from the village than to her. Growing frustration takes Agnes to a very dark place... I was a little worried that Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz would move away from the horror genre with this film, but my fears were misplaced. The Devil’s Bath may not be a straightforward genre film, but it offers plenty of horrific imagery and uncomfortable scenes. And it beautifully exposes the absurdities of the Christian mindset, for which it always gets a point in my book.
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Foto © Ulrich Seidl Filmproduktion / Heimatfilm
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