The Juniper Tree
Encyclopedia
The Juniper Tree is a 1990 Iceland
ic film
with a small cast of five actors, Björk
, Bryndis Petra Bragadóttir, Guðrún S. Gísladóttir, Valdimar Örn Flygenring and introducing Geirlaug Sunna Þormar. It was written and directed by Nietzchka Keene
and based on the fairy tale
"The Juniper Tree
" collected by the Brothers Grimm
.
The film was shot in Iceland with an extraordinary small budget in the summer of 1986
, but because of financial problems later on in the editing room it was not released until 1990
, when it screened for the "Grand Jury Prize" at the Sundance Film Festival
. Rhino Home Video released the film on VHS
in 1995 and on DVD
in 2002.
and portrays the story of two sisters, Margit (Björk Guðmundsdóttir
) and her elder sister Katla (Bryndis Petra Bragadóttir), who escape their home after their mother (Guðrún S. Gísladóttir) is stoned
and burned for witchcraft
. They go where no one knows them, and find Jóhann (Valdimar Örn Flygenring), a young widower who has a son called Jónas (Geirlaug Sunna Þormar). Katla uses magical powers to seduce Jóhann and they start living together. Margit and Jónas become friends. However, Jónas does not accept Katla as his stepmother and tries to convince his father to leave her. Katla's magic power is too strong and even though he knows he should leave her, he can't. Margit's mother appears to her in visions and Jónas' mother appears as a raven and to bring him a magical feather.
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
ic film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
with a small cast of five actors, Björk
Björk
Björk Guðmundsdóttir , known as Björk , is an Icelandic singer-songwriter. Her eclectic musical style has achieved popular acknowledgement and popularity within many musical genres, such as rock, jazz, electronic dance music, classical and folk...
, Bryndis Petra Bragadóttir, Guðrún S. Gísladóttir, Valdimar Örn Flygenring and introducing Geirlaug Sunna Þormar. It was written and directed by Nietzchka Keene
Nietzchka Keene
Professor Nietzchka Keene was an American film director and writer best known for The Juniper Tree, a feature film shot in Iceland, and starring the Icelandic singer Björk in her first film role. She was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in the spring of 2004 and died, aged 52, on 20 October 2004...
and based on the fairy tale
Fairy tale
A fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features such folkloric characters, such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants or gnomes, and usually magic or enchantments. However, only a small number of the stories refer to fairies...
"The Juniper Tree
The Juniper Tree (fairy tale)
The Juniper Tree is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm. In some editions the story is called, The Almond Tree. The Text in the Grimm collection is in Low German....
" collected by the Brothers Grimm
Brothers Grimm
The Brothers Grimm , Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm , were German academics, linguists, cultural researchers, and authors who collected folklore and published several collections of it as Grimm's Fairy Tales, which became very popular...
.
The film was shot in Iceland with an extraordinary small budget in the summer of 1986
1986 in film
-Events:*April 12 - Actor Morgan Mason marries The Go-Go's Belinda Carlisle.*April 26 - Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger marries television journalist Maria Shriver.*May - Actress Heather Locklear marries Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee....
, but because of financial problems later on in the editing room it was not released until 1990
1990 in film
The year 1990 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* CGI technique is expanded with motion capture for CGI characters, used in Total Recall .* The first digitally-manipulated matte painting is used, in Die Hard 2....
, when it screened for the "Grand Jury Prize" at the Sundance Film Festival
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
. Rhino Home Video released the film on VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
in 1995 and on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
in 2002.
Plot
The Juniper Tree is set in IcelandIceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
and portrays the story of two sisters, Margit (Björk Guðmundsdóttir
Björk
Björk Guðmundsdóttir , known as Björk , is an Icelandic singer-songwriter. Her eclectic musical style has achieved popular acknowledgement and popularity within many musical genres, such as rock, jazz, electronic dance music, classical and folk...
) and her elder sister Katla (Bryndis Petra Bragadóttir), who escape their home after their mother (Guðrún S. Gísladóttir) is stoned
Stoning
Stoning, or lapidation, is a form of capital punishment whereby a group throws stones at a person until the person dies. No individual among the group can be identified as the one who kills the subject, yet everyone involved plainly bears some degree of moral culpability. This is in contrast to the...
and burned for witchcraft
Witchcraft
Witchcraft, in historical, anthropological, religious, and mythological contexts, is the alleged use of supernatural or magical powers. A witch is a practitioner of witchcraft...
. They go where no one knows them, and find Jóhann (Valdimar Örn Flygenring), a young widower who has a son called Jónas (Geirlaug Sunna Þormar). Katla uses magical powers to seduce Jóhann and they start living together. Margit and Jónas become friends. However, Jónas does not accept Katla as his stepmother and tries to convince his father to leave her. Katla's magic power is too strong and even though he knows he should leave her, he can't. Margit's mother appears to her in visions and Jónas' mother appears as a raven and to bring him a magical feather.
Comments review
Labeled as a fairy tale, science-fiction, fantasy, drama or art house film, The Juniper Tree was shot in black and white to highlight its dramatic content and as a resource to place the story in the Middle Ages. This film has become famous among Björk's admirers after she gained international renown by the early nineties. Despite some critics remarks about the protagonists' performances, some reviewers consider it is a good film in terms of the screenplay and cinematography.Credits
- Director: Nietzchka Keene
- Producer: Nietzchka Keene
- Assistant producer: Allison Powell
- Cinematography: Randolph Sellars
- Film editor: Nietzchka Keene
- Art director: Dominique Polain
- Assistant art director: Ólafur Engilbertsson
- Costume design: Nanna Luisa Zophaniasdóttir
- Composer: Larry Lipkis
- Sound recording: Patrick Moyroud
- Sound re-recording mix: Jeffrey Perkins
- Sound assistant: Helgi Sverrisson
- Special effects: Dominique Polain
- Special effects (makeup): Élin Sverrisdóttir
- Stunt: rider: Ásta Pálmadóttir
- Gaffer: Robert Field
- Bird trainer: Þorleifur Geirsson
- Still photography: Róbert Guillemette
- Assistant camera: Halldór Gunnarsson
- Production assistant: Nicole Hanset
- Pre-production office: Alix Jackson and Julia Parker
- Folk music collector: Helga Jóhannsdóttir
- Herbal consultant: Helga Mogensen
- Craft consultant: Elizabeth Rowe
- Catering: Solveig Gissel Stáhl
- Nursery consultant: Ásgeir Svanbergsson
USA DVD
- Date of release: April 23, 2002
- Distributor: Rhino Home Video
- Region: 1 NTSC
- Subtitles: N/A
- Audio: English
- Sound: Stereo Sound
- Aspect ratio: 1.33:1 of the original film presentation
- Chapter Stops: 12
- DVD packaging: Amaray Keep Case
- Extras: a 15-minute director Interview, about 3 minutes of deleted scenes accompanied by director’s comments, and about 3 minutes of slide show of promotional photographs.
Japanese DVD
- Date of release: February 10, 2001
- Distributor: unknown
- Price: ¥Japanese yenThe is the official currency of Japan. It is the third most traded currency in the foreign exchange market after the United States dollar and the euro. It is also widely used as a reserve currency after the U.S. dollar, the euro and the pound sterling...
2,940 - Region: 2 NTSC
- Subtitles: Japanese
- Audio: English, Japanese (dubbed)
- Sound: Stereo Sound
- Aspect ratio: 1.33:1 of the original film presentation
- Chapter Stops: 9
- DVD packaging: Amaray Keep Case
- Extras: Original trailer (about 2 minutes) and Japanese trailer (about 1 minute).
External links
- Review by Clark Fountain at Allmovie
- Review by Mark A. Rivera at Genreonline.net
- English trailer at YouTube
- Japanese trailer at YouTube