Witching & Bitching (aka Las Brujas de Zugarramurdi) (2013) d. Alex de la Iglesia (Spain)
Next to Pedro Almodovar, Spain’s most celebrated modern cinematic provocateur is the fearlessly inventive Iglesia, who does not disappoint with his latest exercise in energetic excess, a tale of crooks, crones, and ancient crockeries, er, prophecies.
When a pawn shop robbery (perpetrated by “human statue” street performers and costumed Disney characters) goes south, the thieves hijack a car and head for the French border. The fact that the ringleader Jose (Hugo Silva) is a silver paint-covered Jesus with his seven-year-old son in tow, even ordering the tyke to lay down covering pistol fire, sets the irreverent tone right off, but things only get zanier after an unexpected encounter in a tavern pits the panicked pinchers against a coven of witches (led by multi-Goya winner Carmen Maura and Iglesia stalwarts Carolina Bang and Terele Pavez).
It’s more than a little cartoony at times (literally, as the CGI is laid on pretty thick in the final reel), but the game all-star cast (Dagon’s delicious fish-goddess Macarena Gomez is a hoot as Silva’s harpy ex-wife) and outrageous plot keep it lively from start to finish.
Another winner from the creator of Day of the Beast, Accione Mutante, and The Last Circus. Now available now On Demand from IFC Midnight
http://www.ifcfilms.com/films/witching-and-bitching
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