The Love Witch
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | The Love Witch |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 2016 |
| length | 120 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Anna Biller |
| script | Anna Biller |
| production | Anna Biller |
| music | Anna Biller |
| camera | M. David Mullen |
| cut | Anna Biller |
| occupation | |
| |
The Love Witch is an American film released in 2016 by Anna Biller .
action
After the death of her husband Jerry in San Francisco , the witch Elaine wants to start a new chapter in life in Arcata , California . She moves into a room in the Victorian- style house of her mentor Barbara. She meets the interior designer Trish Manning, who invites her to tea time, where she also meets Trish's husband Richard.
When Elaine meets the literature professor Wayne, they both fall for each other and drive to Wayne's forest cabin. Elaine gives him a drink of hallucinogens before the two have sex. After the act, Wayne appears emotionally unstable and dies the next day. Elaine buries him with a witch bottle , which she fills with her urine and a used tampon .
When Elaine learns that Trish is going on a business trip without her husband, she decides to seduce Richard. Since he goes mad, she quickly breaks with him.
Meanwhile, the police are investigating Wayne's death. On the basis of a tip from a member of the university, who saw Wayne driving off with Elaine and who knows about his forest hut, the police officers Griff and his partner Steve find the grave and the witch bottle. The investigation leads Griff to Elaine, who dismisses the allegation of murder and seduces him. At a ceremony in their witch community, the two perform a mock wedding. When it turns out that Wayne died of heart failure, Griff, contrary to his partner's wishes, wants to suspend the further investigation.
Richard, obsessed with Elaine, is found dead in the bathtub by his wife Trish. When she and Elaine complain about her loss during another tea hour, Elaine explains that she has found her love and shows her a ring that her handle had given her. When leaving the tea room, however, she forgets her ring. When Trish tries to return the ring, Elaine is not in her apartment. She tries on her make-up and clothes, but by chance finds a shrine in honor of Jerry, Wayne and Richard and realizes that Elaine is responsible for her husband's death. When Elaine returns, she tries to kill Trish, who struggles and escapes with a voodoo doll from Richard.
In the evening, Elaine meets with Griff in the cabaret. He confronts her with the laboratory results of the witch bottle found at Wayne's grave containing Elaine's DNA and Richard's voodoo doll that Trish handed over to the police. Since he cannot accuse her of murder, he first wants to arrest Elaine for the illegal funeral of Wayne. When the audience learns about the chaining of Elaine and Wayne's death, Elaine is assaulted. Griff can flee with her. In her apartment he no longer returns her love and Elaine stabs him.
production
The film was made as an independent film under the direction of Anna Biller, who was also responsible for the script, editing and storyboard . The set and costume design were also designed by Anna Biller, and in many cases she made them herself. The film production took seven and a half years to complete. According to Anna Biller, acts of sabotage by the technical crew occurred during the shooting.
The feature film was shot on 35mm film . Through the application of the Technicolor process , the use of rear projection as well as the costume and set design, the film imitates feature films of the 1960s. The film makes references to Alfred Hitchcock , Douglas Sirk , Rainer Werner Fassbinder , Nicholas Ray , Samuel Fuller and Todd Haynes . The game director leaned on the films of the 1930s with female leading roles before the introduction of the Hays Code , but also incorporated references to the post-war works Baby Face , The Wicker Man and Rosemary's Baby . The music is based on the work of Ennio Morricone . Anna Biller stated that she did not want her film to be understood as an exploitation film , which she sees as a forerunner of pornography . Your film, on the other hand, is in conversation with everyday pornography; the femme fatale should be seen from the female point of view. She gave that the guiding principles for the election of Donald Trump for President of the United States were perceived by viewers as current.
The German premiere took place on September 16, 2016 at the Oldenburg International Film Festival .
reception
In his festival report in epd Film, the film critic Frank Arnold goes into the style of the film in particular: “Anna Biller presented an unusual film with The Love Witch : Even the first picture with its strong technicolor colors transports the viewer to the mid-sixties, where a modern witch goes to work in California. "
Sarah Marrs described the film as an ode to retro film, but at the same time as a warning to leave the outdated gender roles behind.
Awards
Chicago Independent Film Critics Circle Awards 2016
- Award for the best costume design (Anna Biller)
- Received The Trailblazer Award for films that have overcome the boundaries of the medium in form and content (Anna Biller)
American Independent Film Awards 2017
- Received The Michael Cimino Best Film Award for films with a budget between one and three million US dollars (Anna Biller)
Dublin Film Critics' Circle Awards 2017
- Award for the best camera (M. David Mullen)
Fangoria Chainsaw Awards 2017
- Nomination for Best Actress (Samantha Robinson)
London Film Critics' Circle 2017
- Nomination for the Technical Achievement Award for Hair and Makeup (Emma Willis)
Web links
- Official website
- The Love Witch on MyMovies (Italian).
Individual evidence
- ^ A b John Patterson: Interview: The Love Witch director Anna Biller: 'I'm in conversation with the pornography all around us'. In: The Guardian . March 2, 2017, accessed March 27, 2019 .
- ↑ Michael Nordine: 'The Love Witch' Director Anna Biller: Most of the Film's Crew 'Hated What We Were Shooting' and Never Even Saw the Movie. In: IndieWire. December 7, 2017, accessed March 27, 2019 .
- ↑ David Ehrlich: 'The Love Witch' Review: Anna Biller's Technicolor Throwback Is a Spellbinding Feminist Delight. In: IndieWire. November 8, 2018, accessed March 27, 2019 .
- ^ The Love Witch (2016): Release Info. Internet Movie Database , accessed March 27, 2019 .
- ^ Frank Arnold: Celebrities from film and politics at the 23rd Oldenburg Film Festival | epd film. In: epd film . October 6, 2016, accessed March 26, 2019 .
- ↑ Sarah Marrs: Fangrrls on Film: Gender norms make everyone miserable in The Love Witch. In: Syfy . July 27, 2018, accessed March 26, 2019 .
- ↑ Darel Jevens: Top Chicago Critics Circle awards go to 'Moonlight,' 'La La Land'. In: Chicago Sun-Times . August 1, 2017, accessed on March 27, 2019 .
- ^ Jordan Raup: 'Krisha' Sweeps the Inaugural American Independent Film Awards. In: The Film Stage. February 19, 2017, accessed March 27, 2019 .
- ↑ Donald Clarke: The DFCC Awards at the Audi Dublin International Film Festival. In: The Irish Times . February 26, 2017, accessed March 27, 2019 .
- ↑ The 2017 FANGORIA Chainsaw Awards Winners and Full Results! In: Fangoria . October 2, 2017, accessed March 27, 2019 .
- ↑ Guy Lodge: 'Three Billboards,' 'Phantom Thread' Lead London Critics' Circle Nominations. In: variety . December 19, 2017, accessed March 27, 2019 .