Recently restored, Murdering the Devil is a Czech film from 1970. It's an absolute delight.
Art director and costume designer Ester Krumbachová's first and only film was credited with shaping the look of the Czech New Wave. It packs a strong satirical punch to domesticity and gender roles, with most of the scenes taking place in a woman's house.
Namely, she's unnamed. Played by Jirina Bohdalová, she isn't as young as she once was. She wants romance and, ideally, a husband. She's an excellent cook, and this movie will make you gungy. Many of the shots linger on roasted meats, bubbling sauces, sugary desserts. She will seduce him through his stomach.
"Him" is Mr. Theo Devil (Vladimír Mensikí). Mr. Devil, a supposed heartthrob from her youth, comes over for dinner. Again and again. He eats insatiably, and things begin to take a turn after once he even gnaws at the furniture. It's more of a fantastic twist, which does not make the movie any less funny or the critique any less piercing.
Krumbachová, who also wrote the script, pokes fun at (mainly) men's behaviour and gluttony. The film rarely comes out and says it directly, rather letting his abject behaviour speak for itself. There is one instance, however, where our heroine marvels at the injustice of her cooking meal after meal without receiving anything in return. When he offers to buy her a measly trinket, she is in awe. "A pocket mirror? For my care?"
She often plays along with his frequent insistence on being a man (while being a devil) and obnoxious mentions to Freud and Nietzsche. Once, she confesses to the audience that the best way to make men happy is to say "I don't know, you tell me".
This is in one of the scenes that break the fourth wall, where she is posing as if in a portrait, speaking to us viewers about her attraction to sin. Performances are exaggerated in the best way possible, with her 17 facial expressions a second, Theo devouring like a rabid beast. They set the absurd tempo perfectly. The costumes and makeup are to die for, colourful and dated while young, and it's easy to see how this film inspires the look of the new Czech New Wave.
In short, Murdering the Devil is a treat. Don't miss out on this innovative classic.
In its first-ever U.S. release, the film opened October 25 at the Metrograph Theater in New York, ahead of an expansion into Los Angeles and other select theaters, via Arbelos.