Les sorcières d'Akelarre

Here is a film based on the Spanish Inquisition in the 1600's. A judge arrives at a small fishing village and with his cohorts interrogates young woman with accusations of witchcraft. The nuns at my Catholic school failed to mention this unsavory part of our history. Religion in all forms can be used in dangerous ways. The women here are tortured to the point of confessing to relations with the devil. The atmosphere is historically accurate and the actors are good. It will not restore your faith in humanity or religion, but it is a worthwhile viewing.

Coven Of Sisters: Set in the Basque country in 1609, very much in the mould of Witchfinder General but far darker. A Witchfinder along with his scribe, interrogator (torturer) and platoon of soldiers is progressing along the coast, seeking out Witches and Heretics. So far they have burned seventy seven women at the stake along with three Parish Priests who were found wanting. The Witchfinder Rostegul (Alex Brendermuhl) wants to observe an actual black Sabbath, in the next village six teenage girls are arrested, having been denounced as Witches, he wants to force them to reveal their Demonic secrets. but of course they have none. The brightest among them, Ana (Amala Aberasturi) tries to trick the Inquisitor, pretending to chant the Black Mass when is she in fact singing Basque folk songs, the other girls join in. Their intent is to delay their executions until the men of the village return from sea who will then fight off the Witchfinder's men. There are disturbing scenes of torture but more is implied than actually shown. The real horror is psychological as the girls as the girls are thrown into a dark cell, not knowing what they are accused of. Rostegul twists their words to imply guilt, even what they haven't said is used to incriminate them. But Anna along with some older women use the Inquisitor's fanaticism against him, keeping his interest and postponing her fate as Scheherazade did. A savage film which you'll remember and mull over longer after the end credits have rolled. Directed by Pablo Aguero, Screenplay by Pablo Aguero and Katell Guillou. On Netflix. 8/10.

I'm glad to read all negative reviews are from shallow moviegoers who are looking for magic tricks. This is a masterpiece in all aspects. Haunting, interesting, historical, deep, disturbing, sexy. Genius! Good plot, good acting, good music, good timing and pace... Very serious filmmaking.

Abstract

Akelarre (Coven) -recent winner of five Goya awards- constitutes a powerful and lucid chronicle of the macho and misogynistic religious fanaticism of the Spanish Catholic Inquisition, of how it "adapted" reality to its prejudices, and does not hesitate to stage its comic stupidity at times , imposing an unexpected twist on the story and projecting all these towards the political present in an eloquent way but never underlined thanks to its realistic register and with a great staging.

Review

At the beginning of the 17th century, a group of inquisitors led by the investigating judge Rostegui (Alex Brendemühl, Dr. Mengele de Wakolda) and his Counselor (Daniel Fanego) arrived at a fishing village in the Basque Country (just one stopover in their disastrous journey ) and arrests and tortures a group of young adolescents accusing them of witchcraft, in a typical case of the investigation processes carried out by the Spanish Inquisition.

The approach that the Argentine director (and co-writer) Pablo Agüero makes of this historical event is very rich, with its multiple dimensions projected onto the present.

In the first place, the inquisitive duo, which combines the religious fanaticism of the investigating judge with the skeptical bureaucratic coldness of the counselor. The way in which Rostegui interprets and "adapted" reality to his prejudices in the interrogations, the ridiculous syllogisms of the dialectic in which both are sometimes trapped, have a powerful and current political resonance. And his timely quotes from the mystical poetry of Santa Teresa de Ávila are an eloquent reminder of the undeniable sexual charge that underlies.

The group of adolescents, accused of participating in a Sabbath (that one) -that is, a black mass to worship Lucifer- for the simple fact of dancing in the forest, is described and acts with an adequate anachronistic register or if you want timeless.

The girls, led by Ana (notably Amalia Aberasturi), somehow little contaminated by the dominant macho and misogynistic culture, display a totally rational spontaneity and put it into play to face the judgment of the inquisitors, imposing at a certain moment a turn to the gloomy of the story by exposing and taking advantage of the comic stupidity of all fanaticism.

The harsh scenes of captivity, interrogations and torture are absolutely current and at the same time, in a round trip, they impose the stamp of "medieval" on all the authoritarianism, fundamentalism and political abuse that followed later.

The period reconstruction and staging, with strong pictorial chiaroscuro that refer to Goya are very successful, as well as the music and songs that the prisoners sing at times are overwhelming. Special mention for the use of the off-field, which particularly in a scene, constitutes a great decision.

Great and ambitious film describing a process against women led by the inquisition. I found it engaging and refreshing, great actors and excellent photography.