Lokis, the Manuscript of Professor Wittembach

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CKB Director Janusz Majewski has taken Prosper Mérimée's 1869 horror novel as the basis for a dreamlike film of great visual beauty. A German clergyman goes to Lithuania to research the folk culture, and gets swept into the bizarre, lavish household of young Count Michał Szemiot. His isolated existence is unsettled by the ravings of his mother, driven insane by an attack from a bear before his birth, and the Count himself is solitary, strangely wild and unpredictable. The clergyman's sanctimonious attitude is contrasted with that of the bored, worldly doctor who attempts to 'treat' the deranged mother with the latest 'scientific' methods. Very odd things happen throughout the film, followed by plausible explanations, yet there is a gnawing sense that something is very wrong at the heart of the Count's world. This is horror of the most intelligent kind, which somehow got made despite the paranoid sensibilities of Soviet censors -- they apparently considered Majewski a madman, but allowed him to make such undecipherable films since they won foreign awards. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 11/06/22 Full Review william w Imagine if Merchant Ivory made a werewolf movie and it was a bear instead of a wolf… So perfectly illustrates the conflict between the modern differentiated (or even dissociated) mind and the premodern, the subtle hint here when the pastor discusses with the villagers that the Lokis or ‘bear' might only be a madman. Highly recommended for those who enjoy older style folktales where the ‘scares' are mostly in the mind… Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Lokis, the Manuscript of Professor Wittembach

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