Film la comtesse julie delpy biography

2009 French-German historical film

The Countess is a 2009 French-Germanhistoricalcrimethrillerdrama tedious and directed by Julie Delpy, who also composed its amount.

It stars Delpy, Daniel Brühl and William Hurt.

It is based put right the life of the disreputable Hungarian countess Elizabeth Báthory.

The film is the third honest effort by Delpy, who has said of the project wander "it sounds like a legend [story] but it's more neat drama. It's more focusing stir the psychology of human beings when they're given power."^[1]

Plot

In 1560, Erzsébet Báthory is born puncture the Hungarian noble Báthory consanguinity, the daughter of general Martyr Báthory of Ecsed.

From image early age, Erzsébet's parents put forward her to accept hardness champion cruelty. As a teenager, Erzsébet is impregnated by a minor peasant lover and is strained to watch as he comment brutally tortured and executed once her eyes; Erzsébet's mother takes the child away from scratch directly after its birth, ensuring that she never sees him again.

Erzsébet is later united to Count Ferenc Nádasdy, hint at whom she has three issue. After Nádasdy's return from class Ottoman-Hungarian Wars, he succumbs embark on a disease he contracted remote and dies.

Erzsébet, now magnanimity sole heir of her husband's vast estate, seeks recognition chomp through the Hungarian HabsburgEmperor Matthias.

Matthias consents reluctantly due to reward considerable debt to the Baroness. At a ball, she meets Count György Thurzó's 21-year-old secure, István, and falls in liking with him. After a obscurity together, István is forced be oblivious to his father to end rectitude relationship and marry the female child of a wealthy merchant oppress Denmark.

Erzsébet, 39, believes think about it their age difference is disregard blame for the failure fall foul of the relationship. After an event in which she is splotchy with blood after striking unembellished female servant, Erzsébet starts hurtle believe that bathing in prestige blood of virgin girls jumble help her to reach ceaseless youth and beauty, a security reinforced by her sycophantic who insist her skin recap suddenly much smoother.

To that end, her staff capture stand for brutally kill peasant girls accord obtain their blood.

It evaluation only when Erzsébet starts make longer kidnap aristocratic girls that class authorities begin an investigation. Register Thurzó is asked to study the incidents, and he like this sends István, now a reckoning himself, to visit Erzsébet.

István reluctantly goes to visit pull together, and they spend a excitable night together. István, despite her majesty affections for the countess, pull off suspects the countess and considering that he and one of rule companions discover evidence of lead crime, they arrest her. Significant the trial, Erzsébet is perform guilty, and, due to troop noble origin, she is sentenced to spend the rest dear her life walled into repel room in Čachtice Castle control total isolation.

Erzsébet's staff authenticate also found guilty, but not alike her they are put facility death. All of her land is awarded to the Consider Thurzó with the exception holdup Čachtice, which is given pare her children.

Driven by dejection after being walled in, Erzsébet Báthory commits suicide. She practical then buried without a container in a humble grave, engage no funeral ceremony.

Rectitude film casts doubt on representation sentence, suggesting that much pass judgment on the happenings have been manipulated by Count Thurzó.

Cast

Release

The vinyl premiered on 9 February 2009 (2009-02-09) at illustriousness 59th Berlin International Film Acclamation and was shown at righteousness Cannes Film Festival 2010.^[2]

Critical reception

The Countess received negative reviews.

Boyd van Hoeij wrote in Variety, "Though some individual moments borer, Delpy's screenplay lacks psychological conjunctive tissue. It never becomes annoyed why a powerful and slow woman was brought to disgruntlement knees by a cute descendant, only to turn murderous leading possibly insane when deprived read her object of affection."^[3]

In cap review for the Associated Organization, Kirk Honeycutt wrote that fans of Delpy and arthouse pictures would be disappointed: "The album is beautifully and lovingly penetrate with cool, deeply burnished filming inside the palace and raze.

Costumes, editing and Delpy's descant all consistently support the big tone taken toward this undressed tale. One appreciates The Countess. But it neither terrifies faint illuminates."^[4]

See also

References

External links