The Witches (1990)

Directed by: Nicolas Roeg | 91 minutes | family, fantasy, horror | Actors: Anjelica Huston, Mai Zetterling, Jasen Fisher, Jane Horrocks, Anne Lambton, Rowan Atkinson, Bill Paterson, Brenda Blethyn, Charlie Potter, Sukie Smith, Rose English, Jenny Runacre, Annabel Brooks, Emma Relph, Nora Connolly

There are those so-called children’s films that cannot really be called children’s films. So it is with ‘The Witches’, after the book of the same name by Roald Dahl. There’s a lot more to it, things that kids probably don’t even understand or overlook anyway.

Nicolas Roeg had to adjust his style somewhat for this book adaptation. We know Roeg from films like ‘Don’t Look Now’, films full of symbolism, double meanings and often a non-chronological structure. That is different here; In terms of structure, the film is simply clear and chronological. The mystique is more in the subject matter, the dark characters, the beautiful camera work and the spectacular special effects and beautiful costumes for that time. Thus the chief witch, a masterful role for Anjelica Huston, is truly terrifying when her true form emerges. The two talking mice in which Luke and Bruno are turned also look very realistic, and to think that this film is from 1990. ‘Stuart Little’ could still suck on it..

Almost all of the actors put in an excellent performance. Luke is played by Jasen Fisher, an unknown young actor. He is the quintessential Roald Dahl hero, a brave kid with his heart in the right place. Luke’s grandmother also comes across as sympathetic, while you can feel that she brings bad memories, probably of her childhood and the witches. Rowan Atkinson also stands out, as the clumsy hotel director who doesn’t like children, let alone mice. He prefers to engage in chats with one of the chambermaids.

The most notable role is, of course, that of chief witch (aka the Grand High Witch, as her subjects call her). Anjelica Huston thus portrays the pure representation of evil, it seems. The oversimplified villain, as we often encounter in Dahl’s stories. The moment you watch Luke, when he accidentally sits in the hall where the witches have their annual meeting, you sympathize with him, and the metamorphosis that follows, from the ‘beautiful’ Miss Eva Ernst to her real appearance as a witch , is terrifying. What exactly is meant by her strong German accent, her dictatorial behavior and strange movements remains to be seen, but the fact is that it works: we know who the villain is.

Besides the excellent acting, the camera work is also very well done. The scenes in which Luke and Bruno flee through the hotel like a mouse are terribly exciting because of the low perspective and the fast shots.

A minus, or at least a point of discussion, is the ending. Here, Roeg has pushed his way through and introduced a rigorous change from the book. It is doubtful whether this change has been for the better.