Sorcery

Rosa, a 13-year-old Huilliche girl living on a remote island off the coast of Chile circa 1880, asks for help from a cabal of sorcerers to take down her father’s cruel German colonist foreman in this elegant and shocking mix of folk horror, political commentary, and coming-of-age tale set during an Indigenous resistance based on actual events. —M.G.

In late 19th century Chile, teenage Rosa follows the Christian faith of the German colonist whose farms she works. When the colonist brutally kills her father, Rosa sets off for vengeance. Turned away by the island’s mayor, she seeks out the guidance of Mateo, an elder native man with connections to a society of Indigenous witches. As Rosa is reawakened with a new spiritual identity, her quest for justice wages unexpected war with the local Christian Chileans acting as law enforcement for the Germans. Based on historical events of Indigenous resistance that occurred with Chile’s Huiliche people, SORCERY is a tense and foreboding defiance of genre conventions that deftly explores the corrosive social strata created by oppression. Crafted immaculately with brooding visual and sonic harmony, the film is an atmospheric wonder, from its first to its transformative final frame. —C.F.

Content Warning: This film contains material that may be difficult for some viewers. Viewer discretion is advised.