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The Juniper Tree

1990

Nietzchka Keene

Björk, Bryndis Petra Bragadóttir, Valdimar Örn Flygenring, Geirlaug Sunna Þormar, Gudrun Gildottir

6.4

971

Drama. Fantasy Margit and her older sister, Katla, flee their homeland in Iceland after their mother is killed for practicing witchcraft. Needing a place to stay, Katla casts a spell over a young farmer named Jóhann which makes him fall in love with her, ensuring the wellbeing of herself and Margit. Jóhann's son, Jóhas, sees through Katla's plan and pleads for his father to make her go away. To help Jóhas in his struggle, Margit's mother appears to ... [+]

	Author	Review
United States	David Ehrlich IndieWire	"An ethereal gem that’s ready to be rediscovered (...) Keene’s debut feature revitalizes a hyper-violent fairy tale by questioning the misogyny that defines its moral order"	POS
United States	Robert Abele Los Angeles Times	"Keene made only a couple of films in her abbreviated life, but 'The Juniper Tree' is absorbing enough to make one rue there weren’t more"	POS
United States	Carson Lund Slant	"It’s on the level of a visual poem that the film most often succeeds, and at a fleet 78 minutes its low-budget expressionism is sufficient to overcome an occasionally leaden dramaturgy (...) Rating: ★★★ (out of 4)"	POS
United States	Glenn Kenny The New York Times	"The movie has a style that doesn't partake of the anticipated influences - you might expect resonances of Ingmar Bergman or Carl Dreyer, but 'The Juniper Tree,' has a voice all its own"	POS
United States	Richard Brody The New Yorker	"Stark and lyrical (...) Björk brings an otherworldly calm to her visionary role"	POS

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