Based on a German manual for 15th century inquisitors, Christensen’s original film presents an array of wild medieval imaginary comprised of devil worshipers, torturers, tomb raiders, possessed nuns and Satan himself, played by the filmmaker. A cross between mockumentary and horror film, not devoid of black humour, the film reviews the history of witchcraft and explores the scientific hypothesis that witches in the Middle Ages suffered from the same hysteria as psychiatric patients in the contemporary age.
Witchcraft through the Ages, Benjamin Christensen, 1922, 90 min. [35mm. screening / VOSE]
