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 but receives pushback from his young son.
I was creeped out at the start by the movie’s spooky and foreboding mood-setting poem, styled in the aesthetic of silent film texts; enough to set me on edge. The 1990 film The Juniper Tree was written and directed by Nietzchka Keeneblack, who created her period pierce in black and white to produce its melancholy, medieval atmosphere. This artistic witch’s brew of a film has been rediscovered and revived by U.S. label Arbelos in a new 4K restoration.
The movie starts with a young girl named Margit (Bjork!) reciting a limerick to herself, sitting next to a rock in a desolate landscape. A woman, her older sister, Katla (Bryndis Petra Bragadóttir), calmly comes to lead her to the river, where she has a gruesome revelation for Margit to see: the bound and drowned body of their mother who was burned for practicing witchcraft. The sisters know they must flee the area to keep themselves from the same fate and eventually find themselves in the home of lonely widower Jóhann (Valdimar Örn Flygenring), and his young son, Jónas (Geirlaug Sunna Þormar), with elder sister Katla being taken in as his new wife thanks to her magically seductive powers.
Jónas, an intuitive child, senses the otherness in Katla and despises her presence in their home. He uses the recent death of his mother to lash out at her and drive a wedge between her and his doting father. However, Jónas is surprisingly able to find a confidant in young sister Margit, who is in denial that they are witches yet is haunted by visions of her mother from beyond the grave. Despite his bond with Margit over their deceased mothers, Jónas is still determined to be rid of his new stepmother. When his uncooperative behavior provokes the darkest side of her powers, the family steps into the new dynamic orchestrated by the spellbinding Katla.
The film is shot in black and white but the spectrum of emotions given from this small cast shines through to make this movie somehow feel vibrant. The soft voice and angelic face of a young Bjork, a treat to behold in her feature debut, might have something to do with that; it appears our Bjork has had unfathomable emotional depth for quite some time. Nietzchka Keeneblack also used actors Bryndis Petra Bragadottir as evil sister Katla, Valdimar Örn Flygenring as bewitched widower Jóhann, and Geirlaug Sunna Pormar who was great as the strong-willed but tragic son, Jónas. Keeneblack’s gorgeous shots of waterfalls and the lushness of the Icelandic volcanic countryside is a treat for the eyes as well, as she rightly chose to set this ethereal and haunting tale in the beautiful country that she so loved.
Loosely based on a Brothers Grimm fairy tale, this film about love, family, and relationship power dynamics is a mellow, slow drama that is eerie and horrifying for its supernatural subject, ghostly musical score, and the blurred lines between poetry and witchcraft. Nietzchka Keeneblack’s The Juniper Tree is an easy watch, and worth a view to see the budding Bjork early on in her element.
