Sorceress

Depending on how you look at it, Sorceress comes across as either a black comedy or a medieval soap opera (or both). The story is based in part on a 13th-century manuscript by Etienne de Bourbon (played by Tcheky Karyo), an aristocrat turned Dominican monk, who wrote about his experiences as an inquisitor. Sent to q pastoral village to sniff out heretics, Etienne discovers a strange healer named Elda (Christine Boisson), who collects the herbs and roots of the forest and makes potions to cure the ill. When he stumbles across a bizarre midnight ritual, Etienne uncovers the unusual secret of the village (known to viewers from the outset): they have a patron saint, complete with holy place, relics, the whole nine yards--only he's a dog. The dog, who saved the son of the landowner by killing a snake, was put to death when the owner saw blood on the dog's jaws, believing it was the child's. This information causes Ettienne to howl Christian wrath at the blasphemers, particularly Elda, whom he designates a sorceress. The final twist is a superb bit of irony, when viewers discover that Etienne is no saint himself. Extremely faithful to the details of medieval life, with stretches of dialog that mirror the actual religious and philosophical debates of the period, Sorceress is an unusual religious drama with a devilish sense of humor. For the adventurous filmgoer, it's a treat. Recommended. (R. Pitman)