Vlacil’s films tread the boundaries between the real world and something more spiritual. In exploring the depths of evil and the true purveyors of grace - he uses amazing camera work and historically poetic production design to tell a tale of petty human resentments gussied up in self-righteous pretext.
As the Chaplain states the Devil tempts us which that is most agreeable. As he finds out for himself- it can be wildly destructive.