Ester Krumbachová’s directorial debut was 1970’s biting feminist satire, Murdering the Devil. The Czech scenographer, dramaturge, artist, costume designer and screenwriter offers the audience a similar feast for the senses as the film’s protagonist, played by Jiřina Bohdalová, prepares for her insatiable guest, Mr Bohouš Čert (čert being the Czech word for devil), played by Vladimír Menšík. While Krumbachová could only ever use a few of her many talents when collaborating on films by Karel Kachyňa, Jan Němec and Věra Chytilová, Murdering the Devil is a dense concentrate of
everything that fascinated her and at which she excelled. The elaborate props, costumes and sets help to characterise the pair of archetypal characters, adding further layers of meaning to the central battle of the sexes. Weaving together motifs from fairy tales, legends and other folk narratives, the film plays with audience expectations, as well as gender stereotypes. The casting of two stars of the period evidently helped in securing production of the provocative film. Instead of conventional comedy, however, audiences were treated to an ornamentally exuberant experiment which utilises alienating techniques found in avant-garde theatre and multimedia performances such as the magic lantern. Despite this exclusivity, the cinema release of Murdering the Devil in autumn 1970 did not see any major complications. Even so, during the normalisation period, the multi-talented artist’s creative activity was progressively suppressed. The film, which takes the saying “the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach” to its absurd conclusion, represents the culmination not only of the Czechoslovak New Wave, but also of Ester Krumbachová’s brief directorial career.
director → Ester Krumbachová / screenplay → Ester Krumbachová, Jan Němec / director of photography → Jiří Macák / set designer → Boris Moravec / edit → Miroslav Hájek / music → Angelo Michajlov / cast → Jiřina Bohdalová and Vladimír Menšík
Trailer © Jakub Jirka
nfa.cz
