''The Witch'' ( fi, Noita palaa elämään) is a 1952 Finnish

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apoca ...

directed by Roland af Hällstrom and produced by

Mauno Mäkelä Mauno Ilmari Mäkelä (7 March 1916 – 17 October 1987) was a Finnish film producer. He also appeared as an actor in films ''Iskelmäketju'' (1959) and ''Luottamus'' (1976). Mäkelä received a Jussi Award for producing the film ''Elokuu Elo ...

. The film is based on

Mika Waltari Mika Toimi Waltari (; 19 September 1908 – 26 August 1979) was a Finnish writer, best known for his best-selling novel ''The Egyptian'' ( fi, Sinuhe egyptiläinen). He was extremely productive. Besides his novels he also wrote poetry, short stori ...

's 1947 play of the same name.

Premise

The film begins with swamp digging

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

s who find a naked girl buried in the mud hundreds of years ago as a

witch Witchcraft traditionally means the use of Magic (supernatural), magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In Middle Ages, medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually ...

. The resurrection of the girl named Birgit evokes horror, unrest, and passions on the local manor milieu; with her enchantment, the girl gets the local men in her traps and makes them a threat to each other.

Cast

Controversy

The film is considered to be one of the first Finnish horror movies, along with ''

Old Baron of Rautakylä Old Baron of Rautakylä ( fi, Rautakylän vanha paroni, sv, Gamla baron på Rautakylä) is a Finnish silent horror film made in 1923, written and directed by Carl Fager and produced by Erkki Karu. The film is based on the novella ''Gamla baro ...

'' (1923), ''Curses of the Witch'' (1927), ''

Linnaisten vihreä kamari ''Linnaisten vihreä kamari'' (''The Green Chamber of Linnais'') is a 1945 Finnish film directed by Valentin Vaala. Mixing elements of horror and romance, it is based on an 1859 novel ''The Green Chamber of the Linnainen Mansion'' (''Linnaisten ka ...

'' (1945) and ''

The White Reindeer ''The White Reindeer'' ( fi, Valkoinen peura, sv, Den Vita Renen) is a 1952 Finnish horror drama film directed by Erik Blomberg in his feature film debut. It was entered in competition at the 1953 Cannes Film Festival and earned the Jean Coct ...

'' (1952). The nudity scenes provoked a lot of controversy at the time, and helped the film to get sold to the United States and West Germany. In Finland, 14 meters of the film was censored, including the line: "I want to hold a young warm body in my arms – in the meadow, among flowers naked, in the warmth of fire, in the warmth of blood".

Reception

''The Witch'' won two

Jussi Awards The Jussi Awards are Finland's premier film industry prizes, awarded annually to recognize the achievements of directors, actors, and writers. History The first Jussi Awards ceremony was held on 16 November 1944 at the Restaurant Adlon in Hels ...

, one for Esko Töyri for best cinematography and another for Lauri Elo for best production design. Young actress

Mirja Mane Impi Maria Mirjami Mane (born Mirjami Manelius; 9 May 1929 – 21 April 1974) was a Finnish actress. She is best remembered for her role as the witch in a Roland af Hällström film ''Noita palaa elämään''. The nudity scenes of that film provoke ...

was both praised and criticized for her performance as the witch. The reception from female critics was mostly negative, while some of the male critics noted that Mane's performance reflected an obvious talent.

References

Films based on works by Mika Waltari Finnish horror films 1952 films Films about witchcraft 1952 horror films Finnish black-and-white films 1950s Finnish-language films {{Finland-film-stub