Quand nous étions sorcières

Filmed in Iceland and undoubtedly an Art film I expected it to have long lingering shots and be heavier on atmosphere than plot, but at the end of the day there was so little story that it basically kept repeating itself. Nice landscape not particularly captured well. Bjork was awesome but the other sister was wooden and unimpressive. The little boy was good, the father kind of tolerable. For a Grimm's fairy tale about witches it had the feel of neither type of film. I stuck it out but it shouldn't have been an effort, and it was. Needed a better script, something fleshed out.

Katla and her little sister Margit must flee their hometown after their mother is stoned to death for witchcraft. Katla's spell to find a husband nets them a new place to live, but comes with the emnity of the new husband's son. An independent American film shot in Iceland, the Juniper Tree is a beautiful interpretation of the brothers Grimm story of the same name. Fine performances, good costumes, and stunning landscapes bring this tale to life.

The Juniper Tree is one of the grimmer of the classic folktales recorded by the Grimm brothers. This movie is a artfully rendered interpretation of that fairytale.

Scandinavian films have a tendency towards a slower, subdued style and this movie is no exception. The grainy quality of the black and white images and that slower pace creates a dreamlike experience for the viewer that suits the plot well.

I would not recommend this movie for everyone. It is not particularly scary or exciting. It is however a great movie for fans of surreal dramas. People who enjoy David Lynch and Lars Fontrier movies will probably enjoy The Juniper Tree.

This is a movie for those who are really deep into art-films and I cannot ascertain whether they will like it or not. Yes the movie is well directed and the cinematography is also good.The shots of the landscapes are somewhat soothing too. However I really wished that there was something more to this film.

Heavily experimental, with borderline confusing dialogue and narrative, the movie stands out for its exquisite imagery. The music is so calming, and the overall mood was pretty isolatingly chipper. One could say the movie tells a story about abandonment and selfishness in a trauma inducing reality, while I interpreted it as some quasi-spiritual drama about the place of women, and hope and reincarnation in times of pathlessness. The film feels pretty insubstantial for the most part and a lot of the runtime feels like it's stretched out to the max, with decorative and repetitive imagery and no meaningful moments of revelation that move you-except that one moment of death halfway through the film, that's just as it is. Even though the movie was a pretty feel good one with solid imagery and music, all of it felt like a huge excercise in ambiguous storytelling, with little substance that deserves your investment and that which has little rewards-except that soothing music during the end credits.

Overall, I liked it, but I doubt people looking for any real substance will find any here.