All of Them Witches — Noah Cowan

Toronto International Film Festival Program Book
1996

Sobrenatural | All of Them Witches
Daniel Gruener
Mexico, 1996
100 minutes
Colour/35mm
Production Company: Televicine
Executive Producer: Ivan Lipkies, Dulce Kuri
Producer: Ignacio Sada Madero
Screenplay: Gabriel Gonzalez Melendez, Daniel Gruener
Cinematographer: Rodrigo Prieto
Editor: Jorge Aguilera
Production Designer: José Luis Aguilar
Sound: Gabriel Romo
Music: Gabriel Gonzalez Melendez
Principal Cast: Susana Zabaleta, Alejandro Tommasi, Delia Casanova, Ricardo Blume, Zaide Silvia Gutiérrez, Roberto Cobo

Exploding from the screen with awesome visual authority and suffused with visceral black magic, All of Them Witches is an experience not quickly forgotten. In a creepy old Mexico City apartment block, Dolores, an attractive young housewife, hears her best friend Eva Maria being murdered. Andres, her loving and protective husband, is shocked and disoriented by the killing, and becomes increasingly quiet and withdrawn. But Dolores is affected more profoundly, and is troubled enough to seek professional help from the kindly psychiatrist Dr. Riojas. Consumed with suspicion, Dolores breaks into Eva Maria’s apartment and discovers an envelope containing a strange powder and the business card of a holistic healer, Madame Endor. Threatened by a sinister beggar—who seems to know more than he should—and his dog, Dolores decides to visit the enigmatic Endor, who lives in a vast cave underneath the city. Before she can turn back, Dolores is sucked into a vortex of witchcraft that implicates everyone around her in a terrifying web of intrigue and mental slavery.

It cannot be stressed enough just how beautiful this film is. Breathtaking images compete with incredible sets, set against an eerie, constantly surprising mosaic of sound. But these are not just frills and baubles. Director Daniel Gruener employs his awesome visual and sonic abilities to explore an unsettling demi-monde that feels strangely grounded in reality. Even the most bizarre events seem possible. Restrained, naturalistic performances and carefully controlled pacing only amplify the eerie mood.
—Noah Cowan