Well, finally got around to watching this.

Is it the best filmic retelling of a Grimms tale? Beats me. I'm not terribly familiar with the Grimms-- other than the oft-repeated fact that the English-language versions are much tamed-down from the original, more violent/gory German versions --and a lot of movies have been made spinning the tales of those two brothers. So I don't know if The Juniper Tree is the best. But the late Nietzchka Keene's take is certainly effective (kudos, by the way, to her parents for naming her "Nietzchka". It would seem to guarantee the academic-philosophical cinematic path she ended up pursuing).

The Juniper Tree (1990, filmed 1989) is a sparse but efficient film clocking in at a tight 79 minutes, with a cast of only five, photographed in crisp black and white. Though it could be thought of as an Icelandic film-- where it was entirely shot-- the director (Keene), cinematographers, and much of the behind-the-scenes crew were American. The five actors are all Icelandic, but speak English (probably out of necessity, if a film made there wishes to have any international appeal, given the extremely limited film infrastructure on an island with a population of less than 250,000 at the time the film was made, and its tiny population the only people in the world who speak their peculiar language natively). Just goes to show the collaborative nature of many good films.

Though this film could be classified as a Horror, it falls more within the Drama category, given the witchcraft portrayed is verbal spells and simple, handmade tokens, bereft of special effects. The burning at the stake of the two sisters' mother is never shown.

After fleeing the place of their mother's execution, the sisters attempt to start a new life with a man and his young son (in this one sentence, I have mentioned all the film's characters).

Familiar themes of the potential antagonism of mother-replacement for a mourning child, the awkwardness of a new wife for a grieving widower, and the surrounding patriarchal themes of free-spirited women circumscribed, abound in this film.

The story of the bird who is transformed seems to be a familiar tale throughout cultures. I recall hearing a similar story in the 1988 movie Nightfall, ostensibly based on an Isaac Asimov story. Only in that version, the creature transformed was a snake, rather than a bird (beware those who wish to check out that movie, based on this review: though it has its moments, that movie is strictly B-grade material, whereas The Juniper Tree is, unequivocally, not).

The Juniper Tree (1990 release date, directed by Nietzchka Keene, starring a young Bjork [24] in her film debut, back in her The Sugar Cubes days. I had no idea her acting career had begun that far back):

6 out of 10.

A good film. Rooprect, thanks for bringing it to my attention.

Glad you enjoyed it, Coast! Funny, until you mentioned it being an American film I had it in my mind that it was completely Icelandic. It has that sort of European flavor.

Astute observation about the theme of patriarchy vs free-spirited women. I had sort of chalked it up to a Christianity vs Paganism conflict, but that's not the real application here. This is more about the men imposing their puritanical ways on the women, forcing them to hide their nature.

I'm curious what you thought of the mother/ghost figure and whether you think she represented a benevolent or malevolent force. Definitely in the beginning there was something threatening about her presence at a distance. I also thought it was pretty spooky how her silhouette could be seen in the background of the window in some scenes, only for it to be gone in the next (about as close to a jump scare as we get). But when we finally see her up close she has a kind face and seems protecting, even though she may have had some other agenda. The hole in her chest was definitely disturbing.

Funny you mentioned the 80s movie Nightfall - I own it on DVD and have watched it but don't remember much except that I felt it should've had a better budget. It had some good ideas.

@rooprect said:

I'm curious what you thought of the mother/ghost figure and whether you think she represented a benevolent or malevolent force. Definitely in the beginning there was something threatening about her presence at a distance. I also thought it was pretty spooky how her silhouette could be seen in the background of the window in some scenes, only for it to be gone in the next (about as close to a jump scare as we get). But when we finally see her up close she has a kind face and seems protecting, even though she may have had some other agenda. The hole in her chest was definitely disturbing.

In general, I thought the mother represented benevolence. She seemed a kind and gentle woman, and her daughters obviously tried to live up to her example even after her death. And yes, the hole in the chest was definitely disturbing-- I'm guessing the most expensive trick in a very low-budget film. I'm not quite sure what it meant; perhaps Margit would reach into her chest for the guidance of her mother's heart?

This film just goes to show that if you have a low budget, a good story and writing can overcome sparse/cheap special effects; in my opinion-- if I have to make a choice --I'll take a good story over flashy SFX every single time.

On Nightfall-- I went back and saw I had given it a 6. The same rating as I gave this film; although objectively The Juniper Tree is clearly better. But I'll leave it be. There's a nostalgic angle, as well as a certain quaintness that I really enjoy in Nightfall (I have reviewed it on its board). Clearly, though, with it's current 39% rating on TMDB, most would only rate it a 3 or 4, apparently. Which I can understand. In certain parts it's very cheap, perhaps even tacky.

Anyway, rooprect, thanks again for bringing Keene's work to my attention. I'd have never discovered this fascinating director without you.

I think you & I share the rare (and questionable) ability to forgive low budget tackiness. 😂

If a screenplay is well written and the director is trying to say something, then who cares if we see strings holding up the flying saucers.

I just checked out the Nightfall board and suddenly realized the version I saw was from 2000 starring David Carradine. It also scored a 38% and was painfully low budget from what I remember. But I also have a nostalgic soft spot because I grew up reading Isaac Asimov. I bet the 1988 version will be even more nostalgic. I see 1 blu-ray copy on Amazon for, oh... $40?? Nothing on ebay but I'll set my alerts and let you know!