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Critic’s Pick

‘The Juniper Tree’ Review: A Young Björk Enchants in Her Film Acting Debut

Björk in “The Juniper Tree.”Credit...Arbelos Films
The Juniper Tree
NYT Critic’s Pick
Directed by Nietzchka Keene
Drama, Fantasy
1h 18m

“The Juniper Tree,” a 1990 film made in Iceland, received spotty distribution in the United States after competing in the Sundance Film Festival. It’s best remembered for featuring the film acting debut of the art-pop star Björk (billed here by her full name, Björk Guðmundsdóttir).

In watching a newly restored version, I was struck not only by Björk’s distinctive charisma at 24 years old but also by the talent of the film’s writer, director and editor, Nietzchka Keene. This was Keene’s first feature, and she would die of pancreatic cancer in 2004 with just a couple of other directing credits to her name.

This film is adapted from a tale by the Brothers Grimm — one of the gnarly unexpurgated ones, not the bowdlerized kind long served to American kids. Two sisters, Katla (Bryndis Petra Bragadóttir) and the younger Margit (Björk), find themselves homeless after their mother is burned as a witch. They wander, and in an environment far-flung from their former dwellings, Katla enchants a young widower, Johann. The sisters set up in his home, and while the childlike Margit gets along well with Johann’s young son Jonas, the kid has real problems with Katla. Especially after he walks into a room and catches her practicing some sorcery.

A preview of the film.Credit...CreditVideo by Arbelos

The tension of the situation resolves itself in a shocking way, as Margit’s burgeoning powers of “vision” prove useless in affecting fate. Shot in powerfully stark black and white, the movie has a style that doesn’t partake of the anticipated influences — you might expect resonances of Ingmar Bergman or Carl Dreyer, but “The Juniper Tree,” which was shot in English, has a voice all its own. This restoration was backed in part by the University of Wisconsin, where Keene taught until her death at 52. It’s a fitting tribute to a filmmaker gone far too soon.

Not rated. Running time: 1 hour 18 minutes.

A version of this article appears in print on  , Section C, Page 9 of the New York edition with the headline: A Young Björk Enchants in Her Film Acting Debut. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

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