tMF | The Movie-Fanatic

I have been intrigued by this movie way way back. I first read the news about a certain 'Countess' who is regarded during her time as quite notorious and controversial and that her story is being made into film by the beautiful French actress Julie Delpy. Now that the film - The Countess - is finally done, I could not contain my excitement! By the way, among the cast is Germany's most sought-after actor, Daniel Brühl, who plays Delpy's lover.

- - -

- - -

Here's more about the movie:

The true story of Countess Bathory born in 1560. At the age of 14, she married a powerful warlord, 10 years her senior. Although their relationship became cold and distant she bore him four children. While he was away fighting wars, she kept up their estate with the help of her confidant, the witch Anna Darvulia, becoming increasingly powerful. She was feared, admired and loathed by many - even the King had to obey her wishes. After her husband died, she met a handsome young man. They fell passionately in love. However, she was desperately concerned that she was not young enough to keep him. For 12 years, she waited for his return and in mad desperation, began to bathe in the blood of virgins, convinced that it would provide her with eternal youth and beauty, setting in motion the chain of bloody and treacherous events that led to her demise.

- - -

The trailer of the movie is simply this- AWESOME! Watch it, just watch it!

- - -

- - -

INTERVIEW WITH JULIE DELPY

What fascinated you about Erzebet so much that you decided to take make a feature film about the infamous Hungarian countess?

I've always loved fairy tales, even as a kid, and I still do today as an adult. I particularly like the dark sides of fairy tales and myths. I like characters such as the evil Queen in Snow White or the Cyclops from the Odyssey. These sinister characters attract me. In some ways Báthory, who was a real person, has these particular fairytale-like elements that fascinate me so much. And when you dig a little deeper you find the material for tragedy in her story. It doesn't matter if she was an insane female serial killer or, if truth be told, an innocent woman accused by greedy representatives of the aristocracy, it still remains a tragedy.

You are not only playing the lead but you also wrote the script and directed the film. How did you juggle all those roles?

Writing and directing wasn't easy. It took years to get THE COUNTESS made and even when the financing was in place, a lot of problems remained. Directing on set can be very draining; you are always either running out of time or out of money. Luckily, I had a fantastic crew and the people I work with during post- production were truly fantastic.

Some say that the Countess bathed in the blood of virgins to preserve her youth. Did you intend for the film to be a subtle dismissal of the current Botox boom?

No, I don't want to use this film to make fun of the use of Botox, even if there is a timely element in it, namely that ageing for women is connected to a lot of fear. I personally am not afraid of ageing, but I was fascinated by this process from an early age. Actually, the film is more about deteriorating than about a woman who is ageing and losing her mind over it; the loss of love is what drives her mad, and the fear of dying, which is something I can empathize with. I think I enjoy growing older, because I tell myself that looking older also means I have stayed alive; when I am old, I am at least not dead. Lovesickness I can relate to; dying of a broken heart might have gone out of style but I love the idea.

Your 2003 record Julie Delpy is considered a cult Neo-Feminist album. Are similar views of relationships between men and women expressed in The Countess as well?

I grew up around two feminists - my mom was one of them and my dad was the other, even more so - and I, for whatever reason, like stories about women and songs with a female point of view. Female characters are often very one-dimensional or they are made up of very few character traits. I don't know if I was able to do better, but with The Countess I was trying to create a very complex woman. She is mad, but also sane and intelligent. She thinks logically, but is still confused; sometimes she is kind but other times, she is incredibly cruel. I find complex behavioural patterns very interesting and wanted to play with that, using her as a very specific example. The film takes us into a man's world where there is only one powerful woman and she is being victimized through love and power games. Even when she appears strong, she is incredibly fragile. I have problems with the branch of feminism that argues that women are categorically better people than men. I believe that depends very much on the individual; some women are not at all better than men. But I am for equality and for equal opportunity, and we are still far from it in our own countries and in the rest of the world. When I started to write the script I was afraid I could be laughed at, because I am a woman and an actress. Many assume that women don't have the kind of humour I have - an impertinent and politically incorrect humour.

Towards the end of the film, your protagonist says she is sorry that her uncontrolled and obsessive behaviour will make things very difficult for women in politics for a long time. What was your intention here?

Over the course of history men have repeatedly kept women from power. They have pointed to examples such as Báthory and argued that women are too superficial, too crazy or too evil to rule; just think about the witch hunts. It is even possible that the person in my film is not as guilty as they say she is. Báthory was apparently ruthless and might have had some servants who didn't obey her killed. But then again other noblemen could have built certain events up in order to get rid of her so that one of her cousins could take over her possessions. Many were just against her because she was so powerful. That is another aspect I like as well.

What's Julie Delpy like as a director?

She's extremely sensitive and has none of those airs and graces some directors give themselves. She doesn't play up the head honcho bit either, she was really composed and focused. Besides, as an actress she knows how to talk to actors. Plus she's got a great sense of humor, which I think's crucial. And that makes working with her so pleasant. Even with the greatest screenplays, there are always moments where you're standing in front of the camera and you feel something's wrong here, it's something you can't put your finger on, but somehow it's just not right. That rarely happened, but in those situations she was totally flexible and came up with good solutions in no time. Although we actors weren't allowed to, sometimes I sneaked a peek at the monitor, and what I saw there looked really terrific. I was blown away by Martin Ruhe's camera work.

How does it feel to act in costume?

For me that was another highlight of the film. Pierre-Yves Gayraud produced some incredible works of art. Partly from old fabrics - 100- or 150-year-old curtains or dresses, which he re-tailored. We didn't look disguised at all. We looked perfectly natural and the costumes fit like a glove. Costumes help when it comes to playing historical roles. Because you move quite differently: even the boots you wear will immediately change the way you walk. I felt fine in mine. For the women it was probably more unpleasant, what with all those corsets and tight-laced dresses. When we had lunch, you'd always see them having only a little bowl of salad: any more than that was out of the question in those costumes. Us guys had it easier there.

THE COUNTESS isn't the first film you've done in English. Is that still a challenge for you?

Actually, this film involved a double difficulty. It's set in an earlier age, so you automatically tend to think you've got to speak differently. What's more, I wanted to try to sound like William Hurt, seeing as we play father and son. William was very kind and, for his part, tried to approximate my accent. Sometimes I was afraid he'd end up sounding more German than me!

What was it like, working with him?

Exciting. I've seen his movies so many times, especially the ones when he was younger and often had something dangerous, something forbidding, about him. So then you figure the man and the characters coincide. When I was rehearsing and shooting with him, he actually seemed exactly like that. I think he enjoyed staying in character now and then off the set. You never knew what was coming. He could take you by surprise and tell you things that really flummoxed you. And then there was the private William Hurt at the pool table in our hotel, where he was noticeably more relaxed. We'd have a beer, shoot some pool - and I'd let him win.

How did you you get involved in Julie Delpy's film?

Generally, I get screenplays sent to me by my agent, which was the case this time, too. Over the course of our long collaboration, we've developed a knack for spotting quality that hasn't been smoothed out and homogenized yet. I read the script and found it very good. Besides I was told that Julie Delpy would also be directing. I'm a European by choice, I own a house in Paris and live there part of the year - you could call me an American with broadened horizons. So when I'm offered a chance to shoot movies outside the US, I like to take it.

Did you know the Bathory legend?

The first time I heard of Bathory, I was about 17. I found it astonishing at the time that her story had hardly inspired any artists. Well, now there are couple films about Bathory. This is a movie about the phase in the Middle Ages when people were - to put it graphically - emerging from the darkness. There were a number of Elizabeths back then: Bathory, Elizabeth I in England, an Elizabeth in Spain. Shakespeare was writing Hamlet, Martin Luther's ideas were causing an uproar. This period might be called the cradle of modernity. On the set I was often wondering in what ways life then still influences our lives today. The events of the film took place only 400 years ago, that's not very long in evolutionary terms. And yet in that same period incredible changes occurred in human history. Sure, we explore a ghastly era in the film. But in some scenes I'd be wondering: Is this really only about the Middle Ages? Or is the film also a metaphor for our day and age?

How do you mean?

THE COUNTESS tells a very adult moral tale. For Julie Delpy portrays a protagonist who matures and grows by facing up to her problems. Bathory was a remarkably shrewd woman who, in a different, ideal setting, would definitely have taken a different course. The great thing about our story, though, is that the protagonist is by no means portrayed as though she were just a cruel anomaly of her age. On the contrary, Julie Delpy makes it clear that it's the cruel period she lives in that manifests itself in Bathory's heart.

Do you find any differences between filmmakers who only direct and those who write their own screenplays, too?

Julie Delpy is a smart, accessible person whom I admire a lot. Ordinarily, I'm skeptical when people put too many hats on at once. But not with Julie, she's just terrific. I think the passion is much more strongly focused if your heart's really in the material you're working with. When you accept projects just for the money, the incentive is pretty weak. As an actor I've basically always been lucky with my roles. But Julie said that she often got no decent offers, so she had to write her projects herself. That seems sensible and consistent to me. Julie Delpy is courageous. On the set there were plenty of very courageous people, as a matter of fact, including the producers.

Did you know the story?

Yes, some time ago I read a biography of her. I still remember thinking that's got to be made into a movie. Very carefully, of course, so it won't be some cheap splatter-flick, just blood, guts and gore. Julie was very successful in avoiding that. She tells a serious, consistent story about a strange, fascinating woman. Julie is simply great at writing. The script was one of those screenplays you just can't put down. It didn't have any tedious parts, it read very dynamically, and was even quite modern, it had exciting characters and was anything but stuffy. It was simply a perfect screenplay. Plus there happened to be a really nice part in it for me. That's why I said yes right off the bat.

How would you describe your part?

What I find so great about this script is there are no unequivocally positive or negative characters. Everyone has their secret, their dark side. My character does too. And yet, seen against the array of characters in the film, I'd say Istvan Thurzo is a positive character, a young man with romantic feelings. He falls so completely in love for the first time in his life - and it happens to be with this older lady. But his father separates the two because the bond between them mustn't be. The great thing for me was being able to play the various stages in the life of this character. We meet Istvan as a 20-year-old, then he's separated from Erzebet; later he comes back again, but by then he's been so re-educated and indoctrinated by his father that he's sent to prove her guilt. But he also wants to find out for himself whether or not she really committed these atrocities. Then again, of course, Istvan is the character narrating the whole story in the voiceover.

What was the shooting like?

I worked at wonderful locations: in castles and palaces, and outdoors, on horseback. It's always nicer working on original sets than in the studio, where everything's fake and made of paper maché. Because they've got a whole different aura and create a unique atmosphere. I was amazed at how many pretty castles there are in eastern Germany and how fantastically preserved they are.