''The Countess'' is a 2009 French-

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

historical

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Ca ...

thriller

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

written and directed by Julie Delpy, who also composed its score. It stars Delpy,

Daniel Brühl Daniel César Martín Brühl González Domingo (; born 16 June 1978) is a Spanish-German actor and filmmaker. He received his first German Film Award for Best Actor for his roles in '' Das Weisse Rauschen (The White Sound)'' (2001), ''Nichts ...

and

William Hurt William McChord Hurt (March 20, 1950 – March 13, 2022) was an American actor. Known for his performances on stage and screen, he received various awards including an Academy Award, BAFTA Award and Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor. H ...

. It is based on the life of the notorious Hungarian countess Elizabeth Báthory. The film is the third directorial effort by Delpy, who has said of the project that "it sounds like a gothic

tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. The ...

but it's more a drama. It's more focusing on the psychology of human beings when they're given power."

Plot

In 1560, Erzsébet Báthory is born into the Hungarian noble

Báthory family The Báthory family ( pl, Batory) was a Hungarian noble family of the Gutkeled clan. The family rose to significant influence in Central Europe during the Late Middle Ages, holding high military, administrative and ecclesiastical positions in ...

, the daughter of general George Báthory of Ecsed. From an early age, Erzsébet's parents raise her to accept hardness and cruelty. As a teenager, Erzsébet is impregnated by a young peasant lover and is forced to watch as he is brutally

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogational torture, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. definitions of tortur ...

d and executed before her eyes; Erzsébet's mother takes the child away from her directly after its birth, ensuring that she never sees him again. Erzsébet is later married to Count

Ferenc Nádasdy Count Ferenc II Nádasdy de Nádasd et Fogarasföld (6 October 1555 – 4 January 1604) was a Hungarian nobleman. His family, Nádasdy, was one of the wealthiest and most influential of the era in Hungary. In 1571, when Ferenc was 16, his mothe ...

, with whom she has three children. After Nádasdy's return from the Ottoman-Hungarian Wars, he succumbs to a disease he contracted abroad and dies. Erzsébet, now the sole heir of her husband's vast estate, seeks recognition from the Hungarian Habsburg King Matthias II. Matthias consents reluctantly due to his considerable debt to the Countess. At a ball, she meets Count

György Thurzó György Thurzó (german: Georg Thurzo, sk, Juraj Turzo; 2 September 1567 – 24 December 1616) was a powerful Hungarian magnate, who served as the Palatine of Hungary between 1609 and 1616. Biography György Thurzó was born into the richest ...

's 21-year-old son, István, and falls in love with him. After a night together, István is forced by his father to end the relationship and marry the daughter of a wealthy merchant in

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

. Erzsébet, 39, believes that their age difference is to blame for the failure of the relationship. After an incident in which she is splashed with blood after striking a female servant, Erzsébet starts to believe that bathing in the blood of virgin girls can help her to reach eternal youth and beauty, a belief reinforced by her sycophantic servants who insist her skin is suddenly much smoother. To this end, her staff capture and brutally kill peasant girls to obtain their blood. It is only when Erzsébet starts to kidnap

aristocratic Aristocracy (, ) is a form of government that places strength in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats. The term derives from the el, αριστοκρατία (), meaning 'rule of the best'. At the time of the word' ...

girls that the authorities begin an investigation. Count Thurzó is asked to investigate the incidents, and he thus sends István, now a count himself, to visit Erzsébet. István reluctantly goes to visit her, and they spend a passionate night together. István, despite his affections for the countess, still suspects the countess and when he and one of his companions discover evidence of her crime, they arrest her. During the trial, Erzsébet is found guilty, and, due to her noble origin, she is sentenced to spend the rest of her life walled into her room in

Čachtice Castle Čachtice Castle (; sk, Čachtický hrad, hu, Csejte vára) is a castle ruin in Slovakia next to the village of Čachtice. It stands on a hill featuring rare plants, and has been declared a national nature reserve for this reason. The castle w ...

in total isolation. Erzsébet's staff are also found guilty, but unlike her they are put to death. All of her estate is awarded to the Count Thurzó with the exception of Čachtice, which is given to her children. Driven by desperation after being walled in, Erzsébet Báthory commits suicide. She is then buried without a coffin in a humble grave, with no funeral ceremony. The film casts doubt on the sentence, suggesting that much of the happenings have been manipulated by Count Thurzó.

Cast

* Julie Delpy as Countess

Erzsébet Báthory Erzsébet ( hr, Setržebet, german: Sandeschewe) is a village in Baranya county, Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the ...

as Count

as István Thurzó * Adriana Altaras as Aunt Klara Báthory * Charly Hübner as Count

Anamaria Marinca Anamaria Marinca (born 1 April 1978) is a Romanian actress. She made her screen debut with the Channel 4 film ''Sex Traffic'', for which she won the British Academy Television Award for Best Actress. Marinca is also known for her performance in ...

as the witch Anna Darvulia * Sebastian Blomberg as Dominic Vizakna * Andy Gatjen as Miklos * Rolf Kanies as Count Krajevo * Jesse Inman as King Matthias *

Jeanette Hain Jeanette Hain (born 18 February 1969, Munich) is a German film actress. She appeared in more than 90 film and television productions since 1990. Hein is perhaps best-known to international audiences as Ralph Fiennes' girlfriend in the Academy Aw ...

as Anna Báthory *

Frederick Lau Frederick Lau (born 17 August 1989) is a German actor. Biography He grew up and still lives in Berlin-Steglitz Steglitz () is a locality of the Steglitz-Zehlendorf borough in Southwestern Berlin, the capital of Germany. is a Slavic name ...

as Janos *

Henriette Confurius Henriette Confurius (born 5 February 1991) is a German actress known to international audiences for her role in the Netflix sci-fi television series ''Tribes of Europa''. Life and career Henriette Confurius' father is German-Dutch writer Gerr ...

as Kayla *

Nikolai Kinski Nanhoï Nikolai Kinski (born July 30, 1976) is a French-American film actor, who has also done work in television and on stage. He was born in Paris, and grew up in California. Currently residing in Berlin, he has acted primarily in American and ...

as The Teacher

Release

The film premiered on at the

59th Berlin International Film Festival The 59th Berlin International Film Festival was held from 5 February to 15 February 2009. The opening film of the festival was Tom Tykwer’s '' The International'', screened out of competition. Costa-Gavras's immigrant drama '' Eden Is West'' se ...

and was shown at the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...

2010.

Critical reception

''The Countess'' received negative reviews. Boyd van Hoeij wrote in ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'', "Though some individual moments work, Delpy's screenplay lacks psychological connective tissue. It never becomes clear why a powerful and intelligent woman was brought to her knees by a cute kid, only to turn murderous and possibly insane when deprived of her object of affection." In his review for the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...

, Kirk Honeycutt wrote that fans of Delpy and arthouse films would be disappointed: "The film is beautifully and lovingly produced with cool, deeply burnished cinematography inside the palace and out. Costumes, editing and Delpy's music all consistently support the high tone taken toward this bloody tale. One appreciates ''The Countess''. But it neither terrifies nor illuminates."

References

External links