L'antre de la sorcière

This film is a rather odd one from Segundo de Chomon, the man who copied Melies. It somewhat has a story but that is more just an excuse to show off a lot of special effects that are actually a bit typical if you've seen lots of Melies's work. The same odd little stunts happen where people kick other people from behind and appear out of nowhere. If it weren't for the Pathe stencil-coloring process used in lots of Chomon films, I would probably think this was a film from Melies.

The story is about a shepherd (who so happens to be a complete idiot) having a fight with his wife and stomping out of their home. I think he falls asleep because a moment later he's being tortured by all these apparitions which basically happens for the remainder of the film. Then they make up and stuff. It's a weird, incoherent watch which is actually funny at times (due to the shepherd's facial expressions, especially in the ending closeup) and there is a bit of coloring. Since I'm a sucker for Chomon's work I'll say I liked it but other people will probably just blame Chomon for ripping off Melies's work.

In this Segundo de Chomón film, it seems that domestic violence is pretty funny! My, how times have changed. It begins with a wife throwing things at her husband and he responds by knocking her flat! He storms out of the house and comes upon a weird lair filled with magical freaks. Much of the rest of the film seems more like random camera tricks than narrative but in the end, the sorceress makes the wife magically appear and the couple are happily reunited.

The film is very weak on story and bombards the audience with special effects--not a recipe for a great film and a weak effort from Segundo de Chomón. Plus, try as I might, I don't think couples beating each other up is a good basis for comedy.