The Devil’s Trap(Ďáblova past)

Set in the Middle Ages, The Devil’s Trap is regarded as the first part in a loose trilogy of historical films from Vláčil that also includes Marketa Lazarová and The Valley of the Bees. Dealing with the perpetual conflict between religion and science, the story follows a priest, who visits a small town on a secret mission. Working for the Inquisition, he investigates a successful local miller who has been accused of being in league with Satan, ever since he mysteriously survived a deadly fire. What unfolds is an early example of the director’s fastidious detail to rural medieval life, how belief systems were often driven by fear and manipulation, and the ruthless authority with which the Church enforced its will upon ordinary people.