Haxan (1922)
I saw this movie some time ago and I think what I found most fascinating about it is that even though it is a decade shy of being a century old, its message still resonated with me powerfully and seems no less relevant today.
"Centuries have passed and the Almighty of medieval times no longer sits in his tenth sphere.
We no longer sit in church staring terrified at the frescoes of the devils.
The witch no longer flies away on her broom over the rooftops.
But isn't superstition still rampant among us?
Is there an obvious difference between the sorceress and her customer then and now?
We no longer burn our old and poor. But do they not often suffer bitterly?
And the little woman, whom we call hysterical, alone and unhappy, isn't she still a riddle for us?
Nowadays we detain the unhappy in a mental institution or - if she is wealthy - in a modern clinic.
And then we will console ourselves with the notion that the mildly temperate shower of the clinic has replaced the barbaric methods of medieval times."
"Poor little hysterical witch!
In the middle ages you were in conflict with the church.
Now it is with the law."
"Centuries have passed and the Almighty of medieval times no longer sits in his tenth sphere.
We no longer sit in church staring terrified at the frescoes of the devils.
The witch no longer flies away on her broom over the rooftops.
But isn't superstition still rampant among us?
Is there an obvious difference between the sorceress and her customer then and now?
We no longer burn our old and poor. But do they not often suffer bitterly?
And the little woman, whom we call hysterical, alone and unhappy, isn't she still a riddle for us?
Nowadays we detain the unhappy in a mental institution or - if she is wealthy - in a modern clinic.
And then we will console ourselves with the notion that the mildly temperate shower of the clinic has replaced the barbaric methods of medieval times."
"Poor little hysterical witch!
In the middle ages you were in conflict with the church.
Now it is with the law."