Cosa de brujas (2003)

User Rating:

5.5/10   

Director:

José Miguel Juárez

Writers:

Amalio Cuevas (writer)
Agustín Póveda (writer)

Release Date:

17 January 2003 (Spain)

Genre:

Action | Comedy | Drama | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

¿Por qué buscar causas ajenas a lo que nosotros provocamos?

Plot:

The night of San Juan, Miguel murders his associate. Two elderly people are witness to the crime and...

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

José Sancho	...	Miguel Gironza
Manuela Arcuri	...	Maria
Antonio Hortelano	...	Serafin
Alberto San Juan	...	Ángel
Manuel Manquiña	...	Rafael
Pilar Bardem	...	Remedios
Lidia San José	...	Azucena
Saturnino García	...	Nemesio
Jorge Sanz	...	David
Aitor Mazo	...	Boni
Blanca Marsillach	...	Elisa
Ágatha Fresco	...	Natalia
Valentín Paredes	...	Matías
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ana Calderón
Manuel Casalet
Jorge Del Rio	...	Camarero Club
Elena Fernández
Juan Lombardero
Francisco Maestre
Carlos Martinez Abance
Luis Javier Martinez
Fernando Moraleda
Eduardo Moratilla
Bárbara Muñoz
Guillermo Ortega
Angel Perero
Sandro Polo
Manuel Sánchez Ramos
Juan José Rodríguez
José María Sacristán
Maria San Neroa
Sara Monje Sanz
Susana Segorbe
Andres Tejero
Sonia Villalva

Also Known As:

The Witch Affair (International: English title)

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

Spain

Language:

Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Spain:13

Filming Locations:

Madrid, Spain

Company:

Alma Ata International Pictures S.L.

Movie Connections:

References "South Park" (1997)

The Everything Movie

The IMDb listing for "Cosa de Brujas" offers up so many different genres that you'll probably think: Impossible. Or stupid. Well, it's possible and supremely intelligent. This amazing little movie manages to be funny, exciting, surprising, scary, and most of all a wonderful puzzle in which many of the pieces seem to be missing and then, suddenly, you realize that most of them are right there in front of you. By the end, every last one has moved perfectly into place. I have to admit I knew almost nothing about the film going into it. (If only we could have this experience with ALL films, we'd discover the surprise inherent in a good movie and wake up to what we really enjoy. We also might start thinking for ourselves, rather than parroting the critics.) If you don't stay alert, "Cosa de Brujas" can be confusing; my friend gave up on it a half an hour in. It appears to be moving in a linear fashion, but somewhere along the line you'll realize it's not, and that's when the fun (and the need to stay alert) really kicks in. In order not to spoil that fun, I won't say anything more except to comment on some performances: Manuela Arcuri is luscious as the femme fatale, a knock-out combo of Catherine Zeta-Jones and Diane Lane, and Antonio Hortelano as the messenger is so goofy, sweet and real that, even if this kind of shambling is his only "shtick," it's an absolute delight to see here. I thought of "Nadie Conoce a Nadie" while watching this movie, but it's nowhere as dependent on computers and paranoia and is much lighter on its feet--though every bit as much of a brainteaser. I suspect "Cosa de Brujas" was not a big hit in its home country of Spain (otherwise we'd have heard more about it). It's too intelligent and puzzling to be mainstream, even though its coupling of thriller-supernatural-comedy-romance certainly is. But I hope adventurous movie-lovers will take a chance. If so, they'll end this film with a big grin on their face.