Murdering the Devil

Dissatisfied with single life and eyeing marriage, an unnamed fortysomething bachelorette (Jirina Bohdalová) decides to rekindle a relationship with her old childhood friend (Vladimír Mensík). But when he arrives for an elaborately prepared dinner rendezvous, her suitor reveals himself to be a boorish, arrogant glutton. Undeterred, she pushes herself to increasingly absurd and surreal ends in romancing this nightmare date… who may just be the devil himself.

The sole directorial outing from legendary Czechoslovak New Wave costume designer and writer Ester Krumbachová (Daisies, Witchhammer, Valerie and Her Week of Wonders), Murdering the Devil is feast for the senses, pushing Krumbachová’s signature production style to dizzying and sumptuous heights. Boasting all the makings of an uproariously funny New Wave classic in 1969, the film’s potential was quickly hamstrung by Eastern Bloc censorship. Half a century later, this prescient skewering of rom-com conventions has been beautifully restored in 4K by the Czech…