Hexenjagd (1996)

Hexenjagd: Directed by Nicholas Hytner. With Daniel Day-Lewis, Winona Ryder, Paul Scofield, Joan Allen. A Salem resident attempts to frame her ex-lover’s wife for being a witch in the middle of the 1692 witchcraft trials.

“A couple go to see the best magician in the world, and the man is thrilled when his wife is picked to help with a trick. When he collects her backstage afterwards though, it is clear they will have to make some changes to their lifestyle as a result of the trick.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThis is a fairly simple little sketch which is done using the sort of green-screen special effects that one used to see all the time in childrenu0026#39;s shows back in the 90u0026#39;s, to make people appear to be ghosts and such other things. It is not particularly funny, and doesnu0026#39;t have a very strong ending, but to its credit it is made better than it could have been by virtue of the tone. There is a cheerful and friendly tone throughout this short film – whether it be the bright colors, the use of only clean humor, the broad performances from the cast, the low- fi visual effects, and the simple unifying acceptance at the end. It doesnu0026#39;t make the short sketch funnier, or the effects better, or the performances stronger, but it does make it easier to like and, while not much cop, it does have this going for it.”