a village keeps a grievous evil as a secret, and thirty years later retribution comes in the form of a man who is meant to be their salvation. it all starts with greed. this village is as corrupt as can be. they are willing to whore out their queen for money from the bishop, and the irony is that the black plague that comes upon the village is payback for a terrible thing that occurred to a previous queen who had another lover. there is a lot of Christian symbolism. it's hard to tell if the stranger in town is the Antichrist, a demon, pure evil; meant to be hated, or just another unloved and mistreated bastard. you feel sorry for the poor guy until he kills someone. the upside down cross he was branded with marks him to be evil, but he is actually quite charming and seductive. this man uses talisman sorcery to send out demons to do his work; both to kill and seduce. its ironic that this man causes forces of lust and obsession when it is those forces exactly that he is come to gain revenge from. he bonds with Matilda who is a kind and gentle soul. she is the only non- grotesque character in the film. Matilda burns these sexual paintings and the only one not burnt is wadded up. It's of two women and one has a phallus. I don't really understand what that means. Maybe it's the only one that doesn't make Matilda think of her suitor. Basically, this grotesque, corrupt, and evil town is brought down by their own creation which is slightly poetic. I won't tell you how, but they are. Lena Headey is brilliant as Matilda. She is kind and compassionate and as I said the only non-grotesque character in the film. She did a brilliant job in this role.
Review of Black Plague
