Synopsis
“
Lukas Feigelfeld’s
Hagazussa ponders the vilification of women, only this time the setting is a remote region of the Austrian Alps in the fifteenth century, when the Black Plague was surging across Europe. A woman (
Claudia Martini) suspected of being a witch endures the slings and arrows of terrible villagers, until the plague unceremoniously claims her life. Years later, her daughter (
Aleksandra Cwen) endures much of the same abuse, until a neighbor extends a friendly hand and it appears as if a pattern will be broken. Throughout, it feels like all the elements are there for a scorched-earth exploration of Plato’s tripartite theory of soul, and the film’s climax is indeed a strange and disturbing vision of a woman, spirit squashed, being driven to commit a crime that’s governed as much by appetite as it is by reason.” –
Ed Gonzalez,
The Village Voice
