“We live and operate in a man’s world. That’s why we as women are like guests. Of course, this could be an advantage for us, because we can mock the male world more easily,” Ester Krumbachová said in an interview with A.J. Liehm. The Czech set designer, costume designer, screenwriter and director did not consider herself a feminist, but deconstructing patriarchal structures was a lifelong mission for her – as it was for her friend Věra Chytilová. The battle of the sexes was also the subject of her only directorial effort Vražda ing. čerta.
The simple plot woven from many fairytale archetypes consists of a series of meetings in the apartment of the nameless protagonist. A friend she hasn’t seen in years, engineer Bohouš Čert [Devil in Czech], arrives. While she lovingly prepares a feast of many courses, he just sips, munches and grunts without restraint. And still he isn’t satisfied. The more empty plates and chewed-up furniture legs he leaves behind, the more his hostess is horrified. But she still dreams that the visitor from hell will rescue her from her boring, lonely life, so she lets Devil invade her privacy again and again. She only keeps him away from the fridge, her Pandora’s box…
With previous projects, Krumbachová could only use a fraction of her skills. On Vražda ing. čerta she embraced everything she was fascinated by and excelled at. She herself gave form to a detailed mise-en-scène with a touch of Art Nouveau and occultism, sewed the clothes, made the jewellery, designed the furniture, and even prepared the food that conveys more meaning than the dialogue. The film passed censorship and was allowed to premiere in September 1970. However, artistic opportunities of Krumbachová, who collaborated on many politically problematic films of the Czechoslovak New Wave, were gradually cut down. She never made another film. This visually opulent parable about male and female roles not only launched but also ended the directorial filmography of this Renaissance woman.

Martin Šrajer