Meet Mr. Karma

It’s a safe bet that filmmaker Álex de la Iglesia is in complete agreement with the famous Oscar Wilde quote: “Moderation is fatal. Nothing succeeds like excess.” No two sentences could better describe de la Iglesia’s approach in his latest film, Las brujas de Zugarramurdi (aka Witching and Bitching), a frenetic visual and linguistic exercise in the extreme. Over-the-top is the movie’s starting point, and the Spanish director is hellbent on ratcheting up the absurdity at every opportunity. While ultimately the film suffers from being too much of a good thing – a trim of about ten minutes from the 104-minute run time would be in order – the picture is so original, the cast so committed, and the production design so much fun that the experience is as irresistible as the English language title.

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