Season of the Witch

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Hello friends of #hive, and especially the Movies&TvShows community. As always, I hope you are all well, along with your family and friends. Today I'm here to talk to you about a movie that I had never seen before, even though it was released in 2011. I'm talking about the film "Season of the Witch," which was directed by Dominic Sena.

The movie I'm bringing you today is a medieval fantasy adventure film that attempts to combine elements of action, supernatural horror, and drama. The film stars Nicolas Cage in the role of Behmen, who gives a wonderful performance as a disillusioned crusader knight who deserts the crusades after being horrified by the slaughter of innocents and decides to return to a Europe devastated by the Black Death.

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Convinced that a young woman accused of witchcraft, played by Claire Foy, is responsible for the plague, members of the Church are forced to escort her to a remote monastery where monks will perform a ritual to end the curse. The group escorting the girl is completed by a devout monk, played by Stephen Campbell Moore, an opportunistic bandit played by Stephen Graham, a young aspiring knight played by Robert Sheehan, and, for a few moments at the beginning of the film, Christopher Lee as a dying cardinal.

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The plot of this film unfolds like a medieval road movie with touches of horror, as the group faces dangers such as attacks by possessed wolves, a suspension bridge on the verge of collapse, and finally, the revelation that the "witch" is not what she seems, In the end, they realize that the girl is possessed by a demon who seeks to destroy an ancient book of exorcisms called the Book of Solomon in order to perpetuate the plague, and the monastery becomes a battle between good and evil, with demonic possessions and sacrifices by the heroes of this film.

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Nicolas Cage plays Behmen with his usual intensity, and with an excellent performance as always, although on this occasion he is a little more passive than in other eccentric roles he has played. He does not shout or make faces, but rather conveys the disappointment of a man who has lost faith in every sense. On the other hand, his partner Ron Perlman, with his deep voice, is perfect as the loyal and joking companion, providing the necessary touch of humor in some parts of the film. Claire Foy plays a role that is both disturbing and vulnerable, and Christopher Lee, although he appears for only a few minutes, clearly shows us his authority.

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This is a film that, in terms of criticism, is fairly predictable and has poor visual effects. However, it has been well received by the public. In short, "Season of the Witch" gets off to a good start with scenes of cross-battles and an ending with some action in the fight against the devil, but it falls a little flat along the way with fairly predictable scenes. In my personal opinion, I think it's a film with a certain charm, which doesn't raise many expectations, but it's 95 minutes of entertainment. For my part, I'll leave it at that and recommend it to anyone looking for entertainment, but who isn't too demanding, so have a great day everyone and blessings, Miles.

The images used in the post were sourced. Texts translated into English by Deepl Translate.

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Hola amigos de #hive y en especial a la comunidad de Movies&TvShows, como siempre espero que se encuentren bien al igual que sus familiares y amigos. En el día de hoy paso por acá para hablarles de una película que no había visto nunca a pesar de que es estreno del 2011, les hablo de la cinta "Temporada de Brujas" o como es llamada originalmente "Season of the witch", la cual estuvo dirigida por Dominic Sena.

Esta película que les traigo hoy es una película de fantasía y aventura de la época medieval que intenta combinar elementos de acción, terror sobrenatural y drama. Está película está protagonizada por Nicolas Cage en el papel de Behmen, el cual logra una maravillosa actuación realizando el papel de un caballero cruzado desilusionado, tras desertar de las cruzadas por horrorizarse ante la matanza de inocentes que estaban llevando y decide regresar a una Europa devastada por la Peste Negra.

Los miembros de la Iglesia, convencida de que una joven acusada de brujería, papel que interpreta Claire Foy, es la responsable de la plaga, se ven obligados a escoltarla a un monasterio remoto donde los monjes realizarán un ritual para acabar con la maldición. El grupo de personas que escolta a la chica se completa con un monje devoto, papel que realizó Stephen Campbell Moore, un bandido oportunista que interpretó Stephen Graham, un joven aspirante a caballero interpretado por Robert Sheehan y por algunos momentos al inicio de la película de Christopher Lee como un cardenal moribundo.

La trama de esta película se desarrolla como un viaje de road movie medieval con algunos toques de terror, ya que el grupo enfrentaría peligros como ataques de lobos poseídos, un puente colgante a punto de derrumbarse y, finalmente, la revelación de que la "bruja" no es lo que parece, pues al final se dan cuenta de que la chica está poseída por un demonio que busca destruir un antiguo libro de exorcismos llamado el Libro de Salomón, para perpetuar la plaga, y el monasterio se convierte en una lucha entre el bien y el mal, con posesiones de demonios y sacrificios por parte de en este caso los héroes de esta película.

Nicolas Cage interpreta a Behmen con su habitual intensidad, y con excelente actuación como siempre, aunque en esta ocasión está un poco más pasivo que en otros roles excéntricos que ha protagonizado, no grita ni hace muecas, solo más bien transmite la desilusión de un hombre que ha perdido la fe en todos los sentidos, por otra parte, su compañero Ron Perlman, con su voz grave, es perfecto como el compañero leal y bromista, aportando el toque de humor necesario en algunas partes de la película. Claire Foy logra un papel inquietante y vulnerable al mismo tiempo, y Christopher Lee, aunque aparece por pocos minutos nos muestra claramente autoridad.

Esta es una cinta que en cuanto a la crítica es lo bastante predecible y con efectos visuales pobres. Sin embargo, tiene buena aceptación por el público. En resumen, "Temporada de Brujas" Tiene un buen arranque con escenas de batallas cruzadas y un final con algo de acción en la lucha contra el demonio, pero se queda un poco floja en el camino con escenas lo bastante predecibles. En mi opinión personal creo que es una película con cierto encanto, que no es algo con muchas expectativas, pero son 95 minutos de entretenimiento. Yo por mi parte los dejo y bueno se la recomiendo a todo aquel que busque entretenimiento, pero que no sea muy exigente, así que feliz día para todos y bendiciones Miles.

Las imágenes utilizadas en el post fueron dadas las fuentes. Textos llevados al Inglés por Deepl Traslate.

After more than 10 years of battle, Crusader Knights Bajon (Cage) and Felson (Pearlman) understand that the reason to participate in the endless war is not the one they believed in. They deserted from the battlefield and headed for their native lands where they were arrested for transgression. But instead of being hanged, they offer the task of taking a young woman, who is accused of a witch and the root cause of the plague epidemic, to a distant abbey where he can be judged and subjected to a ritual of expulsion of the plague. Initially, Bajon and Felson refused, but when they saw that the so-called "witch" was just a peasant girl, they decided to help her get a fair court. Together with four other people, they take on a path of supernatural dangers that will lead them to a final, terrible trial. Probably a lot of you will be surprised by this, but the "Season of The Witch", at least for me, was a very pleasant surprise. I take back absolutely all the bad things I said in his address watching his trailer. I just can not think of a better way to start my film year than a pleasant surprise, especially since I was disappointed by almost all promising "guilty pleasure" titles over the past.

Of course, the film is not devoid of any flaws. There are clichés of the genre, it suffers from rhythm problems (mainly in the middle), the dialogue does not shine (although there are some wonderful replies) and there is a finale that offers a few seemingly strange decisions and I guess it will disappoint a lot of viewers. That would be enough to criticize him, but at least he did not break my boss. "Season of The Witch" has less than anything I want to see in a medieval tale, and a little above. Terrains devastated by plague, religious fanaticism, crusaders, sword battles, witches, demons, knights and undead monks. All this is represented by a wonderful atmosphere, which is a combination of Amir Moqry's great operator work, remarkable set-up and more than impressive make-up effects. In general, we can not have any remarks on the visual side of the film, except for one or two moments around the special effects at the crusade and at the very end. I am also pleased with the performances. Nicholas Cage, again with a foolish hairstyle, does not perform his best, but he is far from the ridiculous performances he was implying the trailer. I personally give him a good estimate. As in most of these films, however, supporting actors are those who deserve our attention, especially Christopher Lee (although it's only a minute or two) and Claire Foy as the girl. They, and the others, manage to bring color and, most importantly, to inspire the credibility of the images, which at times are schematic and clichéed. But the person with chiefly S is called Ron Perlman. He's always as unique as he is, very funny, and he's just kicking off grues and faces. Even if I did not like the rest of the movie, I would only recommend it for it. It's just not about letting go of the heads of people with helmets and, most importantly, of demons!

Last, "Season of The Witch" is not a serious film to think about and provide you with any intellectual challenges. It is a grim and stylized medieval tale, a strange mix of fantasy, drama, historical action, and a supernatural thriller, and I dare say it may appeal to a wider audience than just lovers of darker cinema.

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