January 7, 2011 (Sampurn Wire): Film: Season of the Witch

Director: Dominic Sena

Cast: Nicolas Cage, Ron Perlman, Claire Foy

Rating: **

Season of the Witch fails in spite of actor Nicolas Cage. There is a saying in Hollywood which says that any film that releases on the first Friday of a new year fails to win tickets to the box office. And Season of the Witch is also a striking example of the same. Not only is the film very slow paced, the supernatural elements which are a part of the film are nothing less than boring!

Season of the Witch tells the story of two men Behmen and Felson, played by Nicolas Cage and Ron Perlman respectively who return to their home country in Europe after battling hard at the Crusades for a number of years, only to see that their home in Europe has been destroyed as a result of a plague that had seriously affected the country. In search of their roots, Behmen and Felson receive support from clergymen at the church. However they are assigned the task of transporting a girl named Anna (played by Claire Foy) from her home in the locality to a monastery by the clergy. Anna is said to be the witch of the land and it is she who is supposedly responsible for the devastating plague that hit the land.

In an era of superhero movies, the supernatural element failed to strike a chord at the Hollywood box office. Each critic has completely written off Season of the Witch and consider that Nicolas Cage has wasted his talent on the mindless movie.

--Sampurn Wire