Motherwitch is a surprising miracle of a film. Set in Cyprus in 1882 we meet Eleni (Margarita Zachariou), an artist who lives with her three children in a modest hovel. Her trade is art and she spends the day sustaining her daughter and two sons while teaching them her craft. Tragedy strikes and Eleni is driven into the darkest shadows of grief where she makes a choice that puts both her and her entire village in danger. Director Minos Papas creates a richly atmospheric ode to artists and the act of creation as told through the lens of a Greek folktale. Motherwitch is a haunting exploration of grief and the valor in art.
After losing her children, now ostracized Eleni befriends a young boy in the village named Mikalakis (Sifis Katsoulakis). A natural loner, Mikalakis is constantly yelled at by his parents, and just doesn’t seem to fit in. The grieving mother and the rejected child connect through their mutual interest in painting and it seems that healing begins. That’s when Eleni, still blind with sorrow, decides to paint a portrait of her dead children in blood. As luck would have it, that summons the demon Kalikantzari who soon begins to haunt the town, causing further misfortune. To explain, according to Greek folklore, Kalikantzari spend most of the year hacking away at the tree that supports the earth. However, during the twelve days of Christmas they are allowed to roam the surface of Earth to cause more havoc and destruction. Well, you can only guess what time of year it is.
At first the incidents are negligible. In fact much of it is thought to be the intrusive British colonizers that can’t seem to leave anything of value alone. Then things get weird. Villagers begin dying, religious ceremonies are disrupted by unseen forces, and demonic children lurk in the shadows. Wearing her sorrow like a black cloak, Eleni has little desire to create. Worse still she is at a loss on how to undo the hell she has unleashed on her town nor does she care since all, for her, has been lost.
Grounded in an earthy reality Papas gives the film a mystical yet realistic feel. The script by Evripidis Dikaios, Nikolas Kouroumtzis, and Papas avoids spectacle in favor of more intimate horrors. That’s not to say the film is without some creepy moments. In fact, the atmosphere is rich with dread that patiently builds. The film paints the act of creation and artistry as brave while dismissing destruction as lazy and cowardly. True words indeed. However, While I do appreciate layered script the colonist thread almost felt like an unnecessary metaphor for the ease of destruction.
Zachariou delivers a truly moving performance as Eleni. Here we see a mother travel through the cruel stages of grief only for her to find a dark, cavalier attitude over what she has done. She’s really wonderful here. She pretty much owns the film. Still it is the careful touch that Papas gives Motherwitch that makes it work. He knows when to pull back and observe and when to stun the audience. He guides the production to painterly visuals, a moving story, and message to all artists. Keep creating for it is an act of the utmost courage.
