In a Nutshell. Mini reviews of movies old and new. No fuss. No spoilers. And often no sleep.

Saturday 21 December 2013

The Juniper Tree (1990)

A film by Nietzchka Keene based on the Grimm Brothers story. It’s a low budget black and white film set in Iceland during the Middle Ages. The remote landscape and the strange way that the younger of two sisters is able to interact with the world around her gives the work an eerie, otherworldly feel. It’s an arty fairytale held together by witchcraft and magical realism. Even when it was moving languidly it had a simplistic allure that kept me attentive for the duration. The occasional enlivening of the dialogue with the poetic art of storytelling also helped.

3 candles in the window out of 5

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