Ladies! Do you feel tired of the neglect, emotional damage, selfishness, infidelity, trust and intimacy issues in your marriage? Then worry no more.
Meet Wolf:
This Medieval Central European man will marry you, just to leave you to the mercy of your brand new mother-in-law who will find something to bicker about everything you do, ignore you in bed because he has the hots for his best friend, not communicate his wishes but expect you to act as he expects you to, leave you to your own devices in a town you're a stranger in, reprimand you for sucking at a job you've never done before, let the town believe you're infertile because he won't touch you because he has the hots for his best friend, pay no heed to your wishes or your depression which will lead you to attempt suicide, from which you are religiously prohibited, and having forced you back to life, will not hesitate to throw you on his medieval shoulders in order to return you to your mother. What a catch...
Don't you feel instantly better about your own relationship? Isn't it celestial in comparison?
Don't mind my blitheness, the life of young bride Agnes depicted in horror duo Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala's latest flick, Des Teufels Bad, is indeed hellish. It is based on a historical study about the downcast people in medieval times, notably women, stuck between a miserable lifestyle in marriage and strict religious rubbish, evading the system to take back their right to die. By becoming murderers... as even killers can expect the church's mercy and salvation in the afterlife, a privilege not extended to people who take their own lives. So, more and more women killed children, whom they believed to have pure souls and thus a guaranteed place in heaven, and "earned" their public execution before which they would receive the church's absolution.
As someone who ardently believes in the right to end your own life, even further, that the decision to end your life is the single truly significant decision of the autonomous individual, watching this movie was very depressing to me. Even though times change and the circumstances and lifestyles change, we're still at the point where people have to swindle and cheat and do undignified things to be able to die when they choose to. With the planet working on the limit of its capacity you would think it's a peaceful solution to the problem of people still and thoughtlessly reproducing at high speed.
The Austrian filmmakers Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala make an interesting duo. Their work casts a focus on family ties gone terribly amiss - deliciously ironic considering they are relatives in real life, even if not by blood. Although I can't cite one film of theirs that I would consider a favorite, all their work has a consistently high quality in terms of them putting thought into creating slow-paced, emotional and suspenseful horror.
Also, apparently they will direct the film adaptation of A Headful of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay, honestly my favorite book of his, which follows a teenager who experiences an alleged possession being exorcised and which is the staple work for Tremblay's signature style of ambivalence and open ending. I was surprised to hear this as Tremblay stated in an episode of the podcast The Geek's Guide to the Galaxy that he didn't enjoy "Ich seh, ich seh" at all, so I'm curious what he thinks of its makers filming his own book. In any case I'll be waiting anxiously.
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