1972 ‘Diabeł’ Directed by Andrzej Żuławski
Young Polish nobleman Jakub is saved from imprisonment by a stranger. In return, the stranger wants to obtain a list of Jakub’s fellow conspirators. As he follows his mysterious savior across the country, Jakub is affected by the overall chaos and moral corruption; he goes insane and becomes a mass murderer.
Andrzej Żuławski’s loveletter to Satan written with the blood of lambs and stained with tears of the politically oppressed, documenting a whirlwind of 19th century apocalyptic horror propelled by Faustian psychology and reads like an unhinged Shakespearian tragedy. Everyone and everything is disposable at the hands of destiny. In the end, all that’s left is soil and bones.
As with The Devils and Hagazussa, what this folk horror tale lacks in a solid narrative, it makes up for in an insane film that's bursting at the seams with blood, screams, and violence. It is a film that assaults all the senses in various ways.
One of the most notable things about this movie is the way in which the production design, costume design, and cinematography combine to create something not so much unique, but nonetheless very special. This film's cold temperature and blue-ish tone enhance its grim themes and overall atmosphere. Each performance succeeds in adding to the tension and sense of complete despair and madness.
All in all, this is one of those films that won't appeal to everyone, but those who do choose to watch will be in for a wild ride.
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Diabel
My tastes clearly veer toward the strange, artsy, and dramatic. I put this on as a palate-cleanser, and that says something about me. I know Zulawski is a strange, intense, and stylistically impressive filmmaker, and I know his films require insight and effort to engage in effectively. That I thought this was the right thing to wash the taste of the worst of stoner bullshit out of my mind suggests something twisted in my mind. That i was right suggests something twisted in my soul.
Zulawski's The Devil (its Polish title Diabel has a nice ring to it in my mind) is actually a fairly direct metaphor for oppression and violence in 1960s/70s Poland, especially compared to the fever dreams…
I reveled in every second of this maniacal masterwork from the crazy-ass Andrzej Zulawski. Set in 1793 during the Prussian invasion of Poland, our protagonist Jakub is freed from imprisonment by a mysterious character who seeks a 'list' of his co-conspirators (allegory is at play, and likely why the film was banned in Poland upon release) as the price for his rescue, and let us just say a Faustian type pact is made, turning Jakub into a crazed mass-murderer armed with a straight razor. The hysteria dial is turned up to maximum, where every character acts as if they are devil possessed - Fucking brilliant and my fave Zulawski film thus far!
Jesus. Or, more accurately... Satan. The Devil or Diabel is Andrzej Żuławski’s sophomore feature and a film that will leave you exhausted both mentally and physically when the end credits begin to roll. A psychotic orgy of hedonistic, taboo-shattering debauchery, the film is a startling metaphor for oppression and political corruption in Poland at the time of it’s release in 1972. Not surprisingly, the Polish government banned it outright, though I’m not sure if this was due to the political subtext or the graphic, balls-out-sadistic and blasphemous subject matter or both but either way, the Polish regime of the day were having none of this. Even now, this film is incredibly hard to find. It has never had an official release in the US…
Robert Beksinski's #2 Film Selection for Edgar
First think of Goethe's Faust.
Zulawski's poetic piece of exploitative sensory overload acts as a tragedy. Plotwise, the historical setting never matters, which takes place during the Prussian army's invasion of Poland in 1793. During the invasion, a man (Jakub) who was imprisoned because of an assassination plot against the King is saved by a stranger. In exchange, the stranger asks him the list of Jakub's fellow conspirators. It is a bargain. Maybe implicitly, Jakub sold his life to this stranger, following him across the country as he progressively becomes more insane each time at the sight of the rotten state of an impoverished and decaying nation. As the plot outline sells, he…
not quite as strong but it reminded me a bit of ken russell's The Devil's only with zuławski layering the political allegory with a very literal faustian psychosis. once again, pretty gross!
Slow descend into a fever dream induced by an enigmatic painting seen earlier in the day, the last sight as the consciousness fades is of an incubus rooting its place on the chest. Amidst delirium, a soft violin sonata to keep us company, no, probably won't be waking up. Zuławski's vision of hell is vile and deeply personal, a world fueled by animal instincts and sexual deviance, permeated with enough filth to make the devil dance in joy. It is as ugly as it is mesmerizing, a circus show for lunatics. #5
Andrzej Zulawski's Diabel is a folk-horror odyssey blackened by dirt and blood. Taking place in 1790 Poland, a political prisoner by the name of Jakub is rescued from a chaotic prison by a mysterious stranger. Along with an innocent nun, the three flee and begin a sprawling and episodic nightmare through Jakub's tumultuous and tragic life. His father has killed himself, his sister has gone mad, his fiance shacked up with his best friend, his estranged mother turns out to be a prostitute who he almost has sex with.
No one to turn to - the nun is continuously shocked by every waking moment of Jakub's life - and no one to trust - the stranger slides in like a…
By far one of the most notorious directors of all time, Andrzej Żuławski has become recognized for his controversial arthouse films that go balls-to-the-walls in their insanity and violence, and generally unrepentant in showcasing severe hopelessness in a way that ensured he would never ever see any commercial success. Naturally, I am intrigued, and decided to venture into his work through his second feature Diabel (most people choose Possession to start off with. woops). Banned in Poland under its Communist rule until democracy was accepted by 1990, to the point that Żuławski moved to France in the face of such disgust from the government, this film serves as a compelling piece on the growing insanity of the world, as well…
38/100
[Originally written on my blog.]
Pitched at such a hysterical level from start to finish that it quickly becomes monotonous, and it's tough to imagine any viewer not well versed in Polish history comprehending the intended allegory (devil = government, protag = naive student protesters coerced into self-destruction). Basically you're just watching some wild-eyed, confused simpleton running around killing people at the behest of a weaselly imp. Zulawski's disgust and anger come through, but they aren't enough to sustain interest for two hours.
Screeching madness through picturesque countrysides. I'm not quite sure what is going on, but a man gets shot in the face and the camera is wobbling all over the place. Symbolic? Perhaps!
