In the time of Co unter-Re formation, a miller and his so n come un der invest igation by a priest of the Inquisition, when rumors spre ad that their prosperity comes from working wi th the Devil. The Devil's Tr ap i s a film directed b y Františe k Vláil, based on a novel by Alfréd Technik, adapted b y František A. Dvorák a nd Miloš Kr atochvíl. It was the first of three hi storical dramas that Vláil made during the Czec h New Wave (technica lly he isn't real ly a part of the New Wave, how ever these films w ere made du ring the sam e era of artisti c freedom) , precedin g his m ore well known Marketa Lazarová ( 1967) and Valley of the Bees (1968). Set in the late 1 6th Centur y duri ng the Catholic Reformation, in the Moravi an Karst, situated in what is now the Eastern Cz ech Re public, it tells the tale of a mill er (V ítezslav V ejrazka), and his son J an (Ví t Olm er), who come under suspicion and are investigated by a Jesuit priest of the Inqui sition (Mirosla v Machách ek), when rumors of witch craft are s pread by the local re gent (Cestmír Randa), who is jealou s of the miller's prosp erity and degree of respect among t he lo cal po pulace. As expe cted from Vláil, t his film is a stunning exper ience all the way t hrough. From the opening shot, an ominous manipulation of perspective with a close up o f a ma ngled figu re of Christ dominating the foreground aga inst a tiny figure in black walking along the horizon, to the b reatht aking confron tational finale insi de the vast stalactite filled Kars t caverns, it is a wonderful display of v isual mastery. Maybe not quite as i mpressive as Marketa L azarová , bu t still full of astonishing imagery. As seen fr om u nique angles and d istinct points of view which h ighlight the director's remarka ble sen se of awareness of framing, motion, and p ositioning on the emotional and dramatic t one of the scene. The most memorable being a repeated shot where the camera i s suspended and launched with speed through th e air tow ards t he miller's door. The story here is a s imple on e and I woul d say more accessible than h is later works . With a conventiona l str ucture emphasized as much by i ts plot a nd characters, than by it s expre ssionistic cinematography or auth entic his toric al detail. The eve nts p lay ou t without m uch surprise, and there is a strong underl ying, almost s uper natural, mysterious aspect that is left unr esol ved, in fa ct barely ex plored, which is slightly d isappoint ing, but only becau se it's so fascinating that I wish there was mor e. Ac ting is great all ar ound. Partic ularly the villains Miroslav Macháchek as the prie st, casti ng a sinist er and impos ing shadow whereve r he g oes, and Cestmír Randa as the wease l like regent be hind all the persecution. W hile Vít Olmer brings a c harismati c leading man presence in his role as the miller's son Ja n, in love with the lovely orphan girl Martina (Karla Chadim ová), who be comes a dangerous ob ject of ri valry between Jan and other young men of the village. The film also features the ev ocative music of Zden k Liška (per haps the most prolific composer of the Czech N ew Wave). In this h is sec ond of eleven collaborations with Vláil, his composi tions are used sparingly, b ut to grea t effect, co mplimen ting but ne ver ov erpoweri ng a scene. T he bes t exampl e of which can be heard in an amazingly shot celebra tion and dance sequence at the end of the second act. The Devi l's Trap might not be a master piece, but it is stil l a strong effort, with a fascina ting st raightforward s tory and a glorious hist orical set ting captured beautif ully by Vláil's u nmistak able v isual pr owess. A fine work that would als o be the perfect starter plate to prepar e your self for the challenging feast of Marketa La zarová or The Valley of the Bees . It even has an easy to digest running time. It's therefore puzzling why this gem remains largely overlooked and ignored.
精彩剧情/对白：“不是我病 了，需要你的医术，真正病的人 ，是太后娘娘，太后娘娘那身 子不舒服，是很久聊，之前御医尚且有办法缓解，如今却是没有办法 缓解了，看 遍了，都没有办 法。我便想 到了你，你若是可 以医治好太后娘娘，就等于是救命之恩，太后娘 娘的救命之恩，若 是你求，不得能求来爵位，到那时候，你们一家算是安稳了。”
“很感谢诸位媒体今天的到 来，今天的 发布会一共是两个流程，首先，秦 溪小姐会向大家说明这段时间以来网上一直热议的种 种新闻的真相究竟是什 么样的，然后会 有一小段媒体采 访时间，好了 ，现在开始第一个流程，请诸 位保持会场的安静，将手机调至静音。”
“当我看到陆慎断手的那刻，你知道 吗？我心都死了，他的手术 进行了足足六个小时 ，我在外面等的每一分，每一秒都是那 么煎熬。我不能再接受他有任何出事的可能了，如果 你今天不愿意放我走， 日后我也会想尽办法离开，活着不能如愿，或许死了，你便不 能干涉得了
“瞧你说的，我们真是认 真的，俞姐，不瞒你说，我看着你带着孩子过得不容易，当初孩子他爹 一走几年，我一个年轻女人带着两个娃，日子别提多苦了，我 婆婆又不是个善茬，遮风挡雨的房子差点给他扒拉走，所以我特 能理解你，看到你，就 想起当初艰难的
“我看沈柠那个孩子一点 问题都没有，为人和善，积极向上 ，带领着大队脱贫致富的，大队那些支书和大队长哪个不是对 她交口称赞，她能有什么问题？反而是娇娇，成天 在家里好吃懒惰， 不是嘴碎地说这个人有问题，就是说 那个人有问 题，我看有最大毛病 的人就是她自己
