The Witches' Sabbath (1988)

The freshly graduated psychiatrist David shall deliver an opinion about young Maddalena, who's on trial for murdering a hunter. She claims she's a witch and acted on behalf of the devil. ... See full summary »

Director:

Marco Bellocchio

Writers:

Marco Bellocchio (story), Marco Bellocchio (screenplay)

Stars:

Béatrice Dalle, Daniel Ezralow, Corinne Touzet

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Béatrice Dalle	...	Maddalena / Witch
Daniel Ezralow	...	Davide / psychiatrist
Corinne Touzet	...	Cristina / Davide's wife
Jacques Weber	...	Prof. Cadò
Renata Leoni
Roberta Lena
Daniele Nuccetelli
Sasa Vulicevic
Raffaella Rossellini
Stefano Abbati
Omero Antonutti	...	Medico condotto / Conducted doctor
Eleonora Di Mario	...	Strega #1
Francesca Trasci	...	Strega #2
Laura Visconti	...	Strega #3
Paolo De Vita	...	Monatto / gravedigger

Storyline

The freshly graduated psychiatrist David shall deliver an opinion about young Maddalena, who's on trial for murdering a hunter. She claims she's a witch and acted on behalf of the devil. The public health officer tells David, he's got reason to believe her, that she'd been searching for a man who suits her needs for 300 years. Already after his first meeting with Maddalena, David begins to change: He ignores his beautiful young wife Cristina and loses himself in daydreams and hallucinations in which he participates in Inquisition questioning and erotic witches' circles.

---

Plot Keywords:

explicit sex | 17th century | 1630s | witch | inquisition | 

---

Genres:

Drama

---

Details

Country:

Italy France

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

26 February 1988 (Italy)

Also Known As:

Em Nome do Diabo

Filming Locations:

Massa Marittima, Grosseto, Tuscany, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Gruppo Bema, Reteitalia, Cinémax

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

User Reviews

Bellocchio's sorcery couldn't entirely hide a weak plot .

"La visione del Sabba" is a surrealistic tale about witchery , women , sexual desire and satisfaction . It tells the story of a young beautiful woman who has been accused of attempted murder . She is kept in a mental hospital because she claims to be a witch from the 17th century who has been waiting several centuries for the man worthy of taking away her virginity . The case is given to a young psychiatrist who soon becomes fascinated with her world of pagan pleasures and dreams . After the sight of the "Sabbath" during one of these visions , he completely falls under her witchcraft and voluntarily becomes the object of her satisfaction .

What is an interesting but vague and limited subject turns into a watchable film only thanks to Bellocchio's visual talent . The use of the metaphor of witchery to describe the sexual influence ( and power ) that women are able to exert on men it is a provocative reflection about the conventional roles in our society . But as a subject it's somehow like a candle that burns too fast and long before the end of the film it is extinguished . My impression is that the screenplay was not rich enough of ideas and twists and that this fact forced the director to over-extend many sequences , losing himself too often in a self-pleasing and sterile aesthetic ecstasy . Too often in this "Sabbath"-film we feel like the only ones who are truly having fun are the actors and the director .

Overall , it is a good provocative reflection about the power of women and how their desires and needs can make the world change . It is also a nice tale about witchery and an hymn to the pleasures of life . But it becomes too rapidly short of breath , and even through some well-directed scenes , in the second half of the story we feel like we're watching the same concept illustrated over and over again . Bellocchio showed us that he can do much better than this .