The Countess is a 2009 French-German historical crime thriller drama written and directed by Julie Delpy, who also composed its score.

Erzsébet, now the sole heir of her husband's vast estate, seeks recognition from the Hungarian Habsburg Emperor Matthias.

After a night together, István is forced by his father to end the relationship and marry the daughter of a wealthy merchant in Denmark.

After an incident in which she is splashed with blood after striking a female servant, Erzsébet starts to believe that bathing in the blood of virgin girls can help her to reach eternal youth and beauty, a belief reinforced by her sycophantic servants who insist her skin is suddenly much smoother.

During the trial, Erzsébet is found guilty, and, due to her noble origin, she is sentenced to spend the rest of her life walled into her room in Čachtice Castle in total isolation.

Boyd van Hoeij wrote in Variety, "Though some individual moments work, Delpy's screenplay lacks psychological connective tissue.

It never becomes clear why a powerful and intelligent woman was brought to her knees by a cute kid, only to turn murderous and possibly insane when deprived of her object of affection.