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Bathory (film)

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Wikipedia article




'Bathory' (also released as 'Bathory: Countess of Blood') is a 2008 historical drama written and directed by Juraj Jakubisko. Filming began in December 2005, and the film was released in July 2008. It was Jakubisko's first English-language film and an international co-production between the cinemas of Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and the United Kingdom.

Plot



The film is based on the story of Erzsbet Bathory, a Hungarian countess in the 16th and 17th centuries. Her story takes place in a part of the Kingdom of Hungary that is now Slovakia. In this retelling, the Countess is a healer who conducts medical experiments and rudimentary autopsies in a "hospital" beneath her castle. She forms a relationship with a reputed witch, Darvulia, who saves her from poisoning. The witch promises Erzsebet a son and eternal beauty. In return, Erzsebet must sacrifice both love and her reputation. Darvulia becomes Erzsebet's companion. Meanwhile, maidens in the area have been dying of seemingly unrelated causes, and Erzsebet is seen bathing in a large tub of red liquid as the girls' now-mutilated corpses are buried nearby. Two monks later conclude that the water is not blood but is simply colored red by herbs.

After her husband Ferenc Ndasdy's death, Erzsbet quarrels with his scheming friend Gyrgy Thurz, who tries to proposition her at her husband's funeral. Thurzo's lover, who is gifted with herbs, offers to help him get revenge for the rejection. Soon afterward, Erzsebet begins to have surreal visions and episodes. In one of these, she stabs a woman to death with scissors. Afterwards, she confesses to Darvulia that she can no longer tell dream from reality. Darvulia discovers that someone has been placing hallucinogenic mushrooms in Erzsbet's drinks; Erzsbet cannot remember clearly and believes Darvulia responsible. She has the woman thrown out. Thurz and his wife then capture Darvulia and torture her, cutting out her tongue. Before she dies, she writes Thurz's name in blood on her cell wall. Erzsbet swears vengeance on him.

Thurz enlists Erzsbet's sons-in-law and other allies to prosecute her for witchcraft. When their plans repeatedly fail, they nonetheless capture the Countess and torture members of her household to try to obtain incriminating information. The servants are then executed for their alleged crimes, and Erzsbet is imprisoned. Despairing over her separation from her son, she lies on her bed and begins to sing a hymn; the flames from her candles rise and engulf her in flames. Upon hearing of her death, Thurzo concedes that she has once again made the move he least expected, as when they once played chess together, and admits that he has always loved her.

Cast



Production



Juraj Jakubisko declared in an interview:

Casting

In late January 2006, Famke Janssen was announced to play Bthory, and her photos with Jakubisko showed up in the media. Her first appearance was planned for 6 March 2006. Meanwhile other sequences (those not involving her) were being shot. Around 8 March 2006, news agencies reported that Janssen had been replaced by the English actress Anna Friel.

Financing and production companies

The budget of 10 million EUR (around 15 million USD) makes it the most expensive Slovak film and second most expensive Czech film. The film is a joint effort of Slovak, Czech, British, and Hungarian production companies: Jakubisko Film Slovakia s.r.o. (SK), Eurofilm Studio KFT (HU), Jakubisko Film, s.r.o. (CZ), Lunar Films Ltd (UK) and Concorde Film Trust (HU) with additional government funding provided by Eurimages (EU),[http://www.cineuropa.org/newsdetail.aspx?lang=en&documentID=57397 Cineuropa - News - Finance Europe - 14 co-productions supported by Eurimages] the Ministry of Culture of the Slovak Republic (SK), and Czech Film Fund (CZ).

Accolades



* Czech Lion 2008
The most successful movie
The best artistic asset of the year
The best artist and artistic concept
The best costume designer

* Monaco Charity Film Festival 2010
The Best Artistic Achievement

* WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival 2011
REMI Special Jury Award in Historical/Period piece
REMI Gold Award for "Best Art Direction"

References




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