Whilst checking the credits of auteur film maker Jiri Menzel,I found a online streaming channel which had a Menzel title with Eng Subs,which does not have subs on any other sites! Wanting to check the channel out,I went for the latest movie to be uploaded with subtitles,and got set to kill the devil.
View on the film:
Stepping in after the original chosen director Jan Nemec was barred from working over protesting against the Soviet Occupation of the country, writer/director Ester Krumbachova & cinematographer Jiri Macak take the glossy slickness of Hollywood "Women's Picture" via startling sequences of Ona talking straight to camera in a gold framed mirror,and a outstanding use of vibrant colours,with the bright pinks of Ona's clothes,the pristine white walls and the jaunty score from Angelo Michajlov,and dice it all with a Czech New Wave (CNW) experimentation. Retaining the CNW spirit of Nemec, Krumbachova subtly serves up food in the meals between Ona and "Devil" as a expression of status between them,by at first having Devil pile his plate high with luxury foods cooked by Ona, a plate which becomes cracked as Ona plucks raisins of independence.
Matching what is visually served on the plates, the screenplay by Krumbachova takes the CNW exploration of femininity and dips it into off-beat fantastical surrealism, by pairing the thoughtful character study of Ona breaking her own demons and finding her voice during the dinners with Devil,with heavenly whirls of demonic phone calls,and Ona throwing her Devil past into a sack of raisins. Putting a two-hander on the dinner table,Jirina Bohdalova and Vladimir Mensik each give excellent performances which compliment each other,thanks to Mensik having Devil be a greedy slob with a sharp underline of aggression, whilst Bohdalova threads a broken Ona away from the luxuries in her apartment,to brimming with confidence in a battle of the sexes that kills the devil.
View on the film:
Stepping in after the original chosen director Jan Nemec was barred from working over protesting against the Soviet Occupation of the country, writer/director Ester Krumbachova & cinematographer Jiri Macak take the glossy slickness of Hollywood "Women's Picture" via startling sequences of Ona talking straight to camera in a gold framed mirror,and a outstanding use of vibrant colours,with the bright pinks of Ona's clothes,the pristine white walls and the jaunty score from Angelo Michajlov,and dice it all with a Czech New Wave (CNW) experimentation. Retaining the CNW spirit of Nemec, Krumbachova subtly serves up food in the meals between Ona and "Devil" as a expression of status between them,by at first having Devil pile his plate high with luxury foods cooked by Ona, a plate which becomes cracked as Ona plucks raisins of independence.
Matching what is visually served on the plates, the screenplay by Krumbachova takes the CNW exploration of femininity and dips it into off-beat fantastical surrealism, by pairing the thoughtful character study of Ona breaking her own demons and finding her voice during the dinners with Devil,with heavenly whirls of demonic phone calls,and Ona throwing her Devil past into a sack of raisins. Putting a two-hander on the dinner table,Jirina Bohdalova and Vladimir Mensik each give excellent performances which compliment each other,thanks to Mensik having Devil be a greedy slob with a sharp underline of aggression, whilst Bohdalova threads a broken Ona away from the luxuries in her apartment,to brimming with confidence in a battle of the sexes that kills the devil.
