Wikipedia

The Devil's Bath

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

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 premiered on 20 February 2024 at Berlinale Palast [de][3] and was selected in the Competition section at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival where it competed for the Golden Bear.[4] The film was released in Austria on 8 March 2024 and received positive reviews from critics.

Synopsis edit

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 other escape from her inner torment than by a horrific act of violence.

Cast edit

 
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 edit

The film was produced by Ulrich Seidl Filmproduktion GmbH (Austria) in co-production with Heimatfilm (Germany). The production was funded by the Austrian Film Institute, Vienna Film Fund, Film Location Austria (FISA) and the state of Lower Austria, German Film Fund, Film and Media Foundation NRW and Eurimages; with additional support from Austrian Broadcasting Corporation, Bayerischer Rundfunk and Arte.[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 edit

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

Filmladen [de] is the film's distributor in Austria. The film was released theatrically on 8 March 2024 in Austria.[11]

It was screened at the Festival of Austrian Films on 6 April 2024.[12]

Reception edit

On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes website, the film has an approval rating of 100% based on 11 reviews, with an average rating of 7.5/10.[13]

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."[14]

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."[15]

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."[16]

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."[17]

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."[18]

Accolades edit

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

Award or film festival Date Category Recipient Result Ref.
Berlin International Film Festival 25 February 2024 Golden Bear Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala Nominated [19][20]
Teddy Award for Best Feature Film Nominated [21]
Silver Bear for an Outstanding Artistic Contribution Martin Gschlacht Won [22]
Festival of Austrian Films 8 April 2024 Best Sound Design in a Fiction Film Matz Müller, Tobias Fleig Won [23]
Grand Diagonale Prize of the Province of Styria – Feature Film Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala Nominated

References edit

  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. ^ "The Devil's Bath". Berlinale. 6 February 2024. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
  4. ^ Abbatescianni, Davide (22 January 2024). "The Berlinale unveils its Competition and Encounters titles". Cineuropa. Retrieved 26 January 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". Festival of Austrian Films. 6 April 2024. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
  13. ^ "The Devil's Bath (2024, Drama/Horror)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  14. ^ 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.
  15. ^ Gottlieb, Susanne (20 February 2024). "Review: The Devil's Bath". Cineuropa. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
  16. ^ 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.
  17. ^ Ide, Wendy (21 February 2024). "'The Devil's Bath': Berlin Review". ScreenDaily. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
  18. ^ Nicholas Bell (20 February 2024). "Agnes of God: Franz & Fiala's Bleak Portrait of Women & Madness". Ion Cinema. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
  19. ^ "Der Bayerische Rundfunk bei der Berlinale 2024" [Bayerischer Rundfunk at the Berlinale 2024]. BR.de (in German). 22 January 2024. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  20. ^ Rosser, Michael (22 January 2024). "Berlin film festival reveals 2024 competition line-up". ScreenDaily. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  21. ^ 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.
  22. ^ Scott Roxborough (24 February 2024). "Berlin Film Festival Winners". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  23. ^ Gottlieb, Susanne (9 April 2024). "The Diagonale rewards Sleeping with a Tiger threefold". Cineuropa. Retrieved 4 May 2024.

External links edit

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