I wasn’t expecting a crowd for this one, to say the least, but this beautiful movie had me under its devilish spell at first sight. Life was hard in 18th century Austria, and faith in God (I capitalize out of respect for those who believe) was a coping mechanism.

Singer/musician Anja Plaschg (no idea how to pronounce this mouth-full of consonants) is perfectly cast in this, her first acting gig. A young woman enters into marriage with a heart full of optimism, only to be slowly driven to despair by an [indifferent] husband and his over-bearing mother. Not for the faint-of-heart, but hard to look away.