Killing The Devil

'She', an unnamed middle-aged woman, prepares lavish dinners for her former lover, the ravenous Mr. Devil. As the brute wolfs down endless meals, quoting Freud and Nietzsche to justify his extreme patriotism, their nightly encounters grow increasingly absurd.

Killing The Devil (1970) is a long-forgotten, satirical feminist gem. It is also the only film for which Ester Krumbachová received a directing credit. Despite her essential contribution to the Czechoslovak New Wave through films like Daisies (1966) and Valerie and Her Week of Wonders (1970), Krumbachová was exiled to the margins of film history by the regime. Decades later, her work is recognised for what it is: a fierce critique of gender roles and power dynamics.