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The Devil's Bath

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The Devil's Bath
Theatrical release poster
GermanDes Teufels Bad
Directed byVeronika Franz
Severin Fiala
Written byVeronika Franz
Severin Fiala
Produced by
StarringAnja Plaschg
CinematographyMartin Gschlacht
Edited byMichael Palm
Music byAnja Plaschg
Production
companies
Distributed byFilmladen
Release dates
  • 20 February 2024 (2024-02-20) (Berlinale)
  • 8 March 2024 (2024-03-08) (Austria)
Running time
121 minutes
Countries
  • Austria
  • Germany
LanguageGerman

The Devil's Bath (German: Des Teufels Bad) is a 2024 Austrian-Germany horror drama film written and directed by Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala. The film starring Anja Plaschg tells the story of Agnes, a young married woman, who does not feel at home in her husband's world.[1][2]

It was selected in the Competition at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival where it competed for the Golden Bear.[3] It had its first screening on 20 February 2024 at Berlinale Palast.[4]

Synopsis

Based on historical records and a real, unknown story of European (women's) history, the film is a deep portrait of a person who is hopeful, desperate, seeking and finally runs away from her inner prison.

In 1750, in Upper Austria, a young woman named Agnes marries a stranger. She feels alienated and lonely in his unfamiliar world. As she is very devout and emotional, she isolates herself more and more from the rural life and work. She sees no escape from her inner torment, except for a horrific act of violence.

Cast

Anja Plaschg at the Nestroy Theatre Awards 2016 in Vienna, Austria
  • Anja Plaschg as Agnes
  • Maria Hofstätter as Mother Gänglin
  • David Scheid as Wolf
  • Natalija Baranova as Ewa Schikin
  • Lukas Walcher as Luke
  • Claudia Martini
  • Agnes Lampl
  • Camilla Schilia

Production

The film was produced by the Austrian Ulrich Seidl Film Production GmbH in co-production with the German Heimatfilm. Filmladen are the distributors in Austria. The production was funded by the Austrian Film Institute, the Vienna Film Fund, Film Location Austria (FISA) and the state of Lower Austria, the German Film Fund, the Film and Media Foundation NRW and Eurimages. The Austrian Broadcasting Corporation, the Bavarian Broadcasting Corporation and Arte supported the film.[5]

The psychogram created by Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala has Anja Plaschg as the lead actress, who also composed the music. Martin Gschlacht acted as the director of photography and Michael Palm edited the film.[6]

The film was shot for over 40 days from 1 November 2020 to 29 January 2022 in Litschau, Lower Austria and North Rhine-Westphalia.[1][7] In January 2022 last schedule of filming was done among other places, at the Neuenberg castle ruins near the town of Scheel in the municipality of Lindlar in the Oberbergisches Land.[8] Over 400 extras and small actors were employed for an execution scene in December 2021 to suit the historical setting of the period.[9]

Release

The Devil's Bath had its world premiere on 20 February 2024, as part of the 74th Berlin International Film Festival, in Competition.[10]

It will be released theatrically on 8 March in Austria.[11]

Reception

On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes website, the film has an approval rating of 100% based on 6 reviews, with an average rating of 8.5/10.[12]

Jessica Kiang reviewing in Variety said, "If the story is so pitilessly bleak you may want to look away, the filmmaking craft is so compelling that you can’t."[13]

Susanne Gottlieb reviewing the film at Berlinale for Cineuropa wrote, "The Devil’s Bath is a movie that will stick with the viewer for a while, as it’s a drama drawing on the rich horror background of Franz and Fiala, while also emancipating itself from the genre they became famous for."[14]

David Rooney reviewing the film for The Hollywood Reporter dubbed it as "Not horror but still plenty horrific," and opined, "While it’s punishingly grim and has some pacing issues, this is a gripping psychological study by directors operating with formidable command."[15]

Wendy Ide wrote in ScreenDaily while reviewing the film at Berlinale, "While the story is drawn from historical facts and is specific to its period, there are few films, contemporary or otherwise, that capture so unflinchingly the distorting, debilitating symptoms of depression as a disease."[16]

Nicholas Bell in Ion Cinema rated the film with four stars and said, "Franz and Fiala have mounted a tragic condemnation, a film where the horrors are humans and their pernicious systems of control."[17]

Accolades

The film was selected in Competition at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival, thus it was nominated to compete for Golden Bear award.

Award Date Category Recipient Result Ref.
Berlin International Film Festival 25 February 2024 Golden Bear Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala Pending [18][19]
Teddy Award for Best Feature Film Nominated [20]

References

  1. ^ a b "The Devil's Bath". Austrian Film Institute. 7 November 2020. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  2. ^ Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala (9 February 2024). "The Devil's Bath". Cineuropa. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
  3. ^ Abbatescianni, Davide (22 January 2024). "The Berlinale unveils its Competition and Encounters titles". Cineuropa. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  4. ^ "The Devil's Bath". Berlinale. 6 February 2024. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
  5. ^ "The Devil's Bath | Feature Film: 2021-2024, Drama, Horror, Period, Women". Crew United. 14 December 2023. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  6. ^ "Des Teufels Bad" [The Devil's Bath]. Horticultural cinema (in German). Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  7. ^ "Des Teufels Badn Deutschland Österreich 2020-2024 Spielfilm" [The devil's bath Germany Austria 2020-2024 feature film]. filmportal.de (in German). Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  8. ^ "Geheimer Filmdreh auf Burg Neuenberg in Lindlar" [Secret film shoot at Neuenberg Castle in Lindlar]. Kölnische Rundschau (in German). 26 January 2022. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  9. ^ "Hunderte Komparsen für große Hinrichtungsszene gesucht" [Hundreds of extras wanted for major execution scene]. Die Zeit (in German). 14 December 2021. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  10. ^ Ntim, Zac (22 January 2024). "Berlin Reveals 2024 Competition Lineup: Rooney Mara, Mati Diop, Isabelle Huppert, Abderrahmane Sissako Movies Among Selection". Deadline. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  11. ^ "Des Teufels Bad" [The Devil's Bath]. film.at (in German). 22 January 2024. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  12. ^ "The Devil's Bath (2024, Drama/Horror)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  13. ^ Jessica Kiang (20 February 2024). "'The Devil's Bath' Review: Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala's Beautiful but Staggeringly Bleak Vision of Female Depression in 18th Century Austria". Variety. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
  14. ^ Gottlieb, Susanne (20 February 2024). "Review: The Devil's Bath". Cineuropa. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
  15. ^ David Rooney (20 February 2024). "'The Devil's Bath' Review: A Disturbing Psychodrama About a Woman Driven to Extremes in 18th-Century Rural Austria". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
  16. ^ Ide, Wendy (21 February 2024). "'The Devil's Bath': Berlin Review". ScreenDaily. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
  17. ^ Nicholas Bell (20 February 2024). "Agnes of God: Franz & Fiala's Bleak Portrait of Women & Madness". Ion Cinema. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
  18. ^ "Der Bayerische Rundfunk bei der Berlinale 2024" [Bayerischer Rundfunk at the Berlinale 2024]. BR.de (in German). 22 January 2024. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  19. ^ Rosser, Michael (22 January 2024). "Berlin film festival reveals 2024 competition line-up". ScreenDaily. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  20. ^ Gregory Coutaut (3 February 2024). "Les films en compétition pour le Teddy Award 2024" [The films in competition for the Teddy Award 2024]. Polyester (in French). WordPress. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
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