Temporada das Bruxas

Good Gravy! This is an odd movie. It's kind of like the bored-housewives-turn-on schlock released by Something Weird Video, except it's done as a "serious" movie. Plus, it's advertised as a horror movie because it was directed by George A. Romero, he of "Dawn of the Dead" fame. I watched the Anchor Bay special edition of this flick- the name on the video box is "Season of the Witch", the actual movie has the title "Jack's Wife", and in the theatrical trailer included on the tape the movie is called "Hungry Wives". But ignoring all that, I enjoyed most of this movie. The actors are all good, and the movie is packed with great dream sequences. The proof that this movie is above average is that it can use the tired "waking up from one dream only to find that you're still dreaming" device skillfully.

The plot concerns a bored housewife whose husband ("Jack", I guess) occasionally smacks her around, telling her she needs to "kick some ass" (he says that a lot). She's got a super-cute red head daughter who introduces her to a trippy stoner who turns her on to a swingin' life style. This movie's strongest scenes are the ones concerning Jack's Wife's growing hatred of her dull life and friends.

Although Jack's Wife and her booze-guzzling friends go to see a woman who practices witchcraft, but that's not really a big part of the movie. The "Season of the Witch" title comes from the inclusion of a song, performed by Donovan, with that title. This song, played loudly over a throw-away scene, sounds as if it was recorded by one group sans Donovan, and then they played it over the radio and recorded Donovan singing out of rhythm with it. It's very, very bizarre.

But anyway, this was an obscure little gem that I really liked, and it gets bonus points for including a scene with Mad Libs.

Director George A. Romero is a smart guy. His movies usually have a lot more going on in them than what appears on the surface.

SEASON OF THE WITCH is about a bored, disillusioned "housewife" who dabbles in witchcraft. It's also a study of the cataclysmic changes underway in the late 1960's and early 70's. It was a time when the more puritanical structure of the 1950's was collapsing under the weight of personal and social experimentation / freedom.

Jan White's character is willing to accept new -actually, very old- ideas and a liberating lifestyle that will drive her emotionally-absent husband nuts. That is, if he even notices!

This movie explores the sexual revolution, female awakening, and several other topics of its era. Witchcraft has always been a perfect metaphor for female power, causing terror in those who would much rather keep it buried. Too late. The spell is cast...

To get the most out of 'Season Of The Witch' ignore the horror tag and put Romero's zombie movies out of your mind. This is more of a character study cum social document of an early 70s bored housewife's attempt to find meaning in her life. Faced with dull bourgeois conformity on one side, and a counter-culture that offers no real answers on the other, she eventually finds her own direction. Low budget, variable performances and all, I still found this to be a much more complex and accomplished movie than Romero's most recent effort 'Bruiser'. While it doesn't impress as much as his overlooked vampire gem 'Martin' (which shares certain similarities in approach and theme), it's not to be dismissed. It may not be entirely successful, but I highly recommend it.

In the years between his legendary "Night of the Living Dead" and his outbreak thriller "The Crazies", filmmaker George A. Romero was actually trying NOT to get pigeonholed as a horror director. This is one of his efforts from that era. It's not for hardcore horror fans; other than a few nightmare sequences, it barely flirts with that genre. It's more of a sometimes arty, sometimes exploitative drama about a suburban housewife named Joan Mitchell (Jan White). Rather dissatisfied with her lot in life, she begins to think about things such as extramarital sex, and the idea of dabbling in the occult.

The performances are better than one might expect for such an independent, regional production. Romero uses his script as a set-up for exploring themes such as self esteem & self expression, female oppression, and the generation gap. For a while, it's likely to cause some audience members to be regularly checking their watches, as it rambles on at too deliberate a pace. It begins to maintain interest more consistently after the one hour mark. Regarding its artistic ambitions, Romero does seem to be enjoying himself coming up with those dream sequences. And in terms of exploitative elements, there is nudity both female and male, but never very much violence or gore.

"Hungry Wives" is fairly serious, but not totally without humor. Fans of the directors' output may want to see it for completions' sake, but it's not going to be for every taste.

Six out of 10.

This early film from horror master George A. Romero is like a test run of various themes--alienation, identity, disaffectedness--that would mark his later work such as "Martin" and "Knightriders." For most of the way, it's a dated and talky production, but it ends with a tense and scary climax, which showcases Romero's brilliance in editing and directing to build maximum suspense. While one of Romero's weakest films overall, it still is interesting to watch and a lot better than its reputation would suggest.