Movies

Upper Austria, 1750. A deep, dark forest engulfs the sunlight. The body of an executed woman is displayed on a hill. As evidence. As a warning. As a sign. Deeply religious and highly sensitive, Agnes (played by Anja Plaschg) gazes at the dead woman with compassion and longing. She feels like a stranger in the world of her recently married husband, Wolf (played by David Scheid). It is a cold, work-filled world of obligations and expectations. Agnes increasingly withdraws into herself. Her inner prison grows ever tighter and her melancholy grows ever stronger. Soon, violence seems like the only way out.

Nominated for the 2025 Academy Awards, the Austrian film is based on historical court records that reveal a disturbing and previously little-known chapter of European history. Through their dark psychological portrait, directors Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala give a voice to the invisible and unheard women of that era.