In the time of Counter-Reformation, a miller and his son come under investigation by a priest of the Inquisition, when rumors spread that their prosperity comes from working with the Devil.
The Devil's Trap is a film directed by František Vlá?il, based on a novel by Alfréd Technik, adapted by František A. Dvorák and Miloš Kratochvíl. It was the first of three historical dramas that Vlá?il made during the Czech New Wave (technically he isn't really a part of the New Wave, however these films were made during the same era of artistic freedom), preceding his more well known Marketa Lazarová (1967) and Valley of the Bees (1968).
Set in the late 16th Century during the Catholic Reformation, in the Moravian Karst, situated in what is now the Eastern Czech Republic, it tells the tale of a miller (Vítezslav Vejrazka), and his son Jan (Vít Olmer), who come under suspicion and are investigated by a Jesuit priest of the Inquisition (Miroslav Macháchek), when rumors of witchcraft are spread by the local regent (Cestmír Randa), who is jealous of the miller's prosperity and degree of respect among the local populace.
As expected from Vlá?il, this film is a stunning experience all the way through. From the opening shot, an ominous manipulation of perspective with a close up of a mangled figure of Christ dominating the foreground against a tiny figure in black walking along the horizon, to the breathtaking confrontational finale inside the vast stalactite filled Karst caverns, it is a wonderful display of visual mastery.
Maybe not quite as impressive as Marketa Lazarová, but still full of astonishing imagery. As seen from unique angles and distinct points of view which highlight the director's remarkable sense of awareness of framing, motion, and positioning on the emotional and dramatic tone of the scene. The most memorable being a repeated shot where the camera is suspended and launched with speed through the air towards the miller's door.
The story here is a simple one and I would say more accessible than his later works. With a conventional structure emphasized as much by its plot and characters, than by its expressionistic cinematography or authentic historical detail. The events play out without much surprise, and there is a strong underlying, almost supernatural, mysterious aspect that is left unresolved, in fact barely explored, which is slightly disappointing, but only because it's so fascinating that I wish there was more.
Acting is great all around. Particularly the villains: Miroslav Macháchek as the priest, casting a sinister and imposing shadow wherever he goes, and Cestmír Randa as the weasel like regent behind all the persecution. While Vít Olmer brings a charismatic leading man presence in his role as the miller's son Jan, in love with the lovely orphan girl Martina (Karla Chadimová), who becomes a dangerous object of rivalry between Jan and other young men of the village.
The film also features the evocative music of Zden?k Liška (perhaps the most prolific composer of the Czech New Wave). In this his second of eleven collaborations with Vlá?il, his compositions are used sparingly, but to great effect, complimenting but never overpowering a scene. The best example of which can be heard in an amazingly shot celebration and dance sequence at the end of the second act.
The Devil's Trap might not be a masterpiece, but it is still a strong effort, with a fascinating straightforward story and a glorious historical setting captured beautifully by Vlá?il's unmistakable visual prowess. A fine work that would also be the perfect starter plate to prepare yourself for the challenging feast of Marketa Lazarová 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.
已经完整的故事，加这么一出真的是被枪指着硬憋出来的。一开始还算个同人花絮加吐槽，然后就是把第一集剧情重演一遍，剩下一半纯为爱痴狂。格局比前三部小到不知哪里去了，动作场面也难看得不行。算我粉丝给面子吧，求别再搞了。
“双赢就是矩阵赢两次”：二十年前的片段二十年后还能注水用；二十年前的激越反抗二十年后揭牌“人人能反抗你都信、不骗你骗谁”；二十年前的创新动作武打和子弹时间二十年后变成碎剪镜头加龟波气功；二十年前机器搞人二十年后机器不仅帮人还有了物种分别；二十年前代码界面一片惨绿二十年后元宇宙加特效五彩缤纷；二十年前猪突猛进的奈欧碧二十年后成了训斥下属的将军；甚至二十年前是男人就男人救女人二十年后变了女人就女人救男人。重启把整个IP彻底变成了它自身（前三部）的讽喻，观众终于见识了矩阵建筑师的手段，以为吃下了红药片、其实红药片才是真正的蓝药片，用文化密码形式反抗矩阵完全在矩阵的计算之中，无非是狠起来我砍我自己给你们图一乐再加脑内消费反抗文化的快感拉满，然后该干嘛干嘛，该赢的自然会赢，赢麻了。
反正我是觉着院线电影模式就不适合搞meta叙事，倒是电子游戏行业这些年来meta题材作品隐隐有崛起势头（这个剧本我就很怀疑是为电子游戏准备的）。当然这不是本片的主要问题，本质上M4和EVA终的毛病是一样的：他们的成功建立在对人类过往诸多神话统合后的现代移植与复述，许多年后当他们自己成为了神话却发现人是不能踩在自己肩膀上的。怎么办呢？那就高唱爱是救主吧，然而这种行为正是对神话的最大消解。
作为一个第一部是租VCD看的枪版，后来看了几十遍的中年影迷，这部电影已经是情怀叙旧，爷青回，活久见了，所以打满分，还是会去电影院支持的
重要的不是谁会加入或回归，而是沃卓斯基姐妹对于这个不断进化的科技社会又有了什么惊为天人的新思考。
找到了烫头的感觉：快仨小时坐椅子上尾巴骨直疼！。。对话太多太长，大幅降低了逼格，老片段也过多，疑似炒冷饭
动作戏竟然只剩徒手挡子弹，它与飞行成为概括the one的标志，完全儿戏化。先知和夜景的消失则剥夺了前作最迷人的暧昧感。至于结尾崔尼蒂扮演了女the one，则昭示本作在新时代下已完全成为跟随者泯然众人。
没太看懂，就是怀念一下，过去这么久了。第一部在电脑上看的盗版碟
这代人的年龄仿佛经历了bullet time总还停留在世纪初的少年阶段，致使大叔和辣妈的纯爱屡屡搬上银幕，尤其对于昔日叱咤风云的黑客来说这会不会太肤浅小清新了，简直没眼看… 以及所谓矩阵世界应许的自由政体到底是什么似乎也很模糊，仍处于乌托邦的理想之中，既然克苏鲁的现实世界与数字虚拟世界的dictatorship都不能令人满意，那么靠两个中年人纯爱的情动就能超级英雄拯救世界了嘛… 回到现实才能组织抵抗拟像和想象的力量，这种怀旧的二元对抗似乎确实证明Neo is getting old
1、打哪吒、打钟楼怪人、打路人脸硬汉、打僵尸、打浴袍大叔？？？ 2、崔妮蒂一明白自己在母体里就立马拳打老公抛弃孩子，二元论虚无论到这种地步，难道不是彻底否定了前三部所有“虽然命运被注定被操控但我还是要选择相信”的对人类意志的歌颂吗？？锡安它也是另一个小程序呀，那你还斗争个啥当个女救世主做啥？？？
不明觉厉，只为凯莉-安·摩斯风采依旧，老尼奥学会八极拳了。
“市场不景气。我相信你能理解为什么我们敬爱的母公司华纳兄弟决定拍摄三部曲的续集。
烂到我都忘了标记了。开头meta的部分还能看，后面就彻底是煎熬了。"巴尼叔叔"能加点分，最后一场里他就"巴尼叔叔"。
突然得知要出续作，而且还是原来的导演，特别期待。这年头期待啥就失望啥。其实故事还是很通顺的，虽然台词很多而且听着很复杂很有哲理，又拍了2个半小时，妥妥的商业大制作片长，但其实讲的就是把前作的男女主角救回现实世界的简单故事，穿插了很多三部曲的画面勾回忆。Neo救出来后也没有什么贡献，Trinity也是如此，感觉救不救问题也不大，救出来反而喂我一嘴狗粮，看他们超人附体满天飞，何必呢？主创也不想恰烂钱，所以直接在电影里吐槽华纳兄弟，也不知道这是怎么没被要求重拍的。看着基努的长发和胡子，我一直串戏到John Wick，他的面瘫表演也没什么不同，还好中途有光头造型，不至于太单调。结尾高潮大战拍得不差，但以这个系列的要求来说还是弱爆了。如果老版Agent Smith和Morpheus能参演还能多加一星。
3.最后要说的是演员了，老演员雨果艾隆王请不起，请新演员模仿，就和亮剑翻拍一样，小鲜肉演技真不行。导演还没事就放几段老三部曲片段，简直自我打脸。
这个故事是讲给影视圈听的，也是导演对社会当下的隐晦表达。被规训多年的人们，靠着卖人设伪装，早已默认甚至享受了各色子民的身份（大不了销号重练），它需要一次kick，发动群众，原动力就是爱，问题是：Neo既然有情感，为啥每次抉择拍得都特别生硬？群众是怎么得到响应的？都没交代。能看得出来，剧组穷了很多，跟个二流美剧一样（远不如《超感猎杀》爽快），小小摄影棚里根本不够表现如此宏大的主题。这还只是文戏，武戏就全程奥特曼化了，所以为数不多的特效场景反而挺带感的。
沃卓斯基这辈子最成功的是拍了黑客帝国，最失败的是重启了黑客帝国。
尼奥在浴缸里头顶小黄鸭的画面再次证明了：小黄鸭既是程序员的捉虫利器，也是泡澡时的绝佳安抚物
即便在观看前充分调低了预期，也没想到能全方位垮塌到这个地步。完全美剧级的炒冷饭（好像辱美剧了），情节、人物、仪式感无一成立，动作戏无聊透顶，台词从质到量只能用洪水滔天四字形容，这进一步消弭了全片所剩无几的电影感。更加让人无法忍受的是无休无止的片段闪回和自我致敬，无法分辨这究竟是毫不自知的自恋，还是江郎才尽后的破罐破摔。20年前，《黑客帝国》横空出世，迅速而确凿地化作一块流行文化的图腾，一时间也引得不可胜数的恶搞与戏仿；20年后，《黑客帝国》自己的正统续作也姗姗来迟地加入了他们的行列。
这片确实垮了，一开始我都感觉是在看美剧，缺点实在是能列十条。估计很多人吐槽很多了。但还是给3星，因为至少我看到第四部又在前三部的基础上往前走了一步，我是指科幻方面。因为前三部真是顶级科幻，非常有科幻思维。再往后续确实是非常非常难，所以哪怕我看到了一点可贵的延续和进步，我就觉得不错了。现在绝大多数科幻片，我都看不上眼，真的几乎毫无科幻思维，都是披着科幻外衣的动作片、特效片、悬疑片。当然，这部和以前也是没法比的，只能说看到一点点，稍微满足黑客帝国影迷的希望而已。
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