The Witch Hunt (1981) [N/A]
Release Date:
August 24, 1981
Original Title:
Forfølgelsen
Alternate Titles:
Caccia alla strega
Die Hexe von Laupstad
Forfølgelsen
Förföljelsen
Genres:
Drama
Production Companies:
Norsk Film
Svenska Filminstitutet
Production Countries:
Norway | Sweden
Ratings / Certifications:
NO: 15
Runtime: 93
Having gone through many personal struggles, Eli (Lil Terselius) returns to her native village and begins to work on the farm of Ingeborg Eriksdotter (Anita Bjork), eventually tending a plot that once belonged to her family. But Eli has been gone a long time, and the opaque villagers see her as an outsider—she is suspicious from the start. The year is 1625, and stories of witches conjuring up evil are a part of the daily culture. Eli unwittingly makes matters worse for herself when she is able to cure the sick with herbs, and when she begins an affair with Aslak (Bjoern Skagestad) a farmhand—clearly she must have cast a spell on him. This all adds up to a witch hunt with a ready-made "witch." Eli, in the end, is officially accused of witchcraft by a devious bailiff, while Ingeborg makes every attempt to save her, and Aslak himself does not survive the stress—hardly a good omen for the outcome of the trial.