1990 Directed by Nietzchka Keene
Margit and her older sister Katla flee for safety after their mother is burned to death for witchcraft. Finding shelter with Johan and his resentful young son, Jonas, the sisters help form an impromptu family unit that’s soon strained by Katla’s burgeoning sorcery.
Einitréð, Cuando fuimos brujas, Der Wacholderbaum, 주니퍼 트리, Quan érem bruixes, Quand nous étions sorcières, 더 주니퍼 트리, Quando Éramos Bruxas, Можжевеловое дерево, Ardıç Ağacı, 女巫恋人
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A film that’s every bit as lyrical and fraught as the T.S. Eliot poem it uses for a preface, Nietzchka Keene’s little-seen “The Juniper Tree” — shot in the summer of 1986, only to premiere at Sundance four years later after a series of financial woes — has long been thought of as the other Björk movie, the one she made before her feral, totemic, Falconetti-level performance in “Dancer in the Dark.” The one Björk made before she was even Björk (at that point, she had yet to even join The Sugarcubes).
Now, thanks to a stunning new 4K restoration made from the original 35mm camera negative, people will finally have a chance to appreciate this ethereal American gem as…
"I don't want to see. Even if I could."
The sense of time, space, and mystique in the film is marvelous. With The Juniper Tree, writer-director Nietzchka Keene's feature debut hums with an ethereal excellence akin to the artists of old, the experience's transportive, almost ghostly power truly a feat to behold. The resolute storytelling compliments the windswept grandeur of each composition while granting the viewer just enough narrative detail to effortlessly engulf them in an almost overwhelming marriage of dread and warmth. From beginning to end, the complete experience is calmly visceral with a fundamental darkness that cunningly crescendos with stirring effect.
A force of beauty and fear that never dwindles. It's poetry in motion.
"She became ashes and left with the wind."
Bjork’s first foray into acting is a classic tale with some rather Bergmanian overtones about a family trying to move forward after the tragic death of their matriarch due to her involvement in witchcraft. Despite this, the dark magic lingers on as the father gets enchanted by a local witch, forcing him to fall in love with her. However, this will prove difficult because his kids want her out.
Nietzchka Keene’s directing is for the most part really interesting. The apparent Bergman influence can feel very distracting at times, and it's hard to tell whether she was deliberately inspired by him or was simply trying to mimic his work. In spite of this, many of her decisions are on point…
me: omg what a cool movie!
björk: does the sparrow sing the tune of the apricot-shaped moon?
Part 2 of the May Film Challenge
1st Nietzchka Keene
A delicate and multilayered story of folk tradition and the capacity for survival in the bleak Icelandic wilderness. The sisters may both have supernatural powers and Katla may use hers to bind Jóhann to the duo, but there's a need here that goes beyond mere power- it's a way to survive in a harsh climate that already has persecuted them. Jóhann may be justifiably concerned by Katla's attempts to ingraitate herself with little Jónas and the potential spell she has put Jóhann under, but he's also callous and cruel, slapping Katla and frequently reminding her that she's nothing compared to his dead wife. Björk's Margit is caught in the middle…
