La Comtesse

A simpler, more naive, cheaper and overall worse version of the Bathory story that exists only to finally get Jakubisko's project appreciated. The only interesting thing about this version is the concerted effort to tell the story not of a bloodthirsty beast, but of a powerful woman who was an extraordinary figure in her time. Yet all the components of the film, starting with the actors and ending with the set design, completely fail. The main storyline begins after Nádasdy's death, and the Countess very quickly becomes the prodigal aging lover of a 21-year-old man. There have been more than enough fictional lovers alongside prominent female characters past and present! Such a screenwriting crutch is more likely to point to cluelessness than anything else. Moreover, the dialogue is reminiscent of old TV gossip, not of life at court. I also find it hard to believe Erzsébet's affluence as she moves through completely empty interiors and exteriors in her sober costumes evoking Western Europe (where is the fine line between the Hungarians fighting the Turks and the Viennese elite so convincingly personified by Anna Friel?). If you take the trouble to watch it, you will find that a lot of burdens have been made about Bathory in the last 50 years, but only now is it possible to make such films on a more realistic basis. So thank you to Julie Delpy for her efforts. (08/11/2009)