Beautiful, rugged scenery in Iceland, a fairy tale that's every bit as dark as it is magical, and 21-year-old Björk, just before her Sugarcubes days - there's a lot to love about this film. As the story evolves we see that the supernatural witchcraft some women have been stoned and burned for is real, with one sister using it to seduce a widower and to try to handle his son's resentment of her, and the other (Björk) seeing visions of their own dead mother and messages in animal behavior. The film references other bits of folklore involving trolls and birds, and while the main story is based on Grimms' Fairy Tales, it feels very Icelandic in the way the harsh, barren world is alive with hidden mysticism. In that way, it seems to reflect the culture as much as the novels of Halldór Laxness do. The small cast is strong and the black and white cinematography is stunning. Really, just a lovely little film from Nietzchka Keene.
Review of The Juniper Tree
