Bathory (4 Stars)

This is the fourth film that I've watched this month about Countess Elizabeth Bathory of Hungary. It tells a different story to the other films, even though it shows several of the same supporting characters. The director Juraj Jakubisko is Slovakian, and the place where Elizabeth Bathory lived is now part of Slovakia. His goal is obviously to put the Countess in a good light. Whereas the film "The Countess" suggested that she might not have done all the crimes attributed to her, this film states openly that she never bathed in blood.

This text from the end of the film shows a very one-sided version of the story. That's acceptable in itself. When telling true stories the writer and director have to interpret the past, especially if there are questions about the historical records. However, in order to discredit the "unsubstantiated accusations" of Gyorgi Thurzo the director invents stories of his own. For instance, Gyorgi captures peasant girls and puts them in Elizabeth's dungeon as proof that she is killing virgins. There are no records or even rumours of this being the case. The monks Peter and Cyril, both purely fictional characters, examine Elizabeth's bath water and discover that it's water mixed with red herbs, not blood at all. "Bathory" can't be taken seriously as a historical record.

That doesn't mean that Elizabeth Bathory is portrayed as a saint. She whips the servants who displease her, and she stabs a maid to death who makes a mistake while cutting her hair. That wasn't illegal under Hungarian law. As Countess she was allowed to kill her servants, and she was certainly allowed to whip as many men as she liked. What wasn't allowed was witchcraft, which included bathing in blood. That's why it was essential for Gyorgi Thurzo to prove this crime.

Ironically, in the film Elizabeth, a Protestant, was denounced as a witch by the Protestant pastor, while the Catholic monks spoke out in her defence. But as I already said, the monks were fictional characters, invented for the film. I wonder if the director is a Catholic who wanted to defend his religion.

Franco Nero appears as King Mathias II of Hungary. It's just one scene, but I was thrilled to see him. This is the only time I've seen him when he wasn't playing Django.

I can overlook the untruthfulness of this true story. What I don't like is the poor acting. The main characters, including Anna Friel, Karel Roden and Franco Nero, are all excellent actors. The problem is the supporting characters. They speak their lines flatly without emotion. Maybe they aren't bad actors, but that's how they appear from the way they speak. All of the minor actors and actresses are Slovakian, and they have to speak English. It's understandable that they sound mechanical when speaking in a foreign language.

The film was a flop. Understandably. Who's interested in Elizabeth Bathory outside of Hungary and Slovakia? It was a brave step for Juraj Jakubisko to make the film in English, but that wasn't enough to drag foreign viewers into the cinema.

I've decided to add a "success rate" to my film reviews, positive if it made a profit, negative if it made a loss, zero if it broke even. This is only an estimation, but it should give a picture of a film's success at the box office. I'd factor in DVD and Blu-ray sales, but they aren't public.

Success Rate:  - 3.4

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