Tonight I went to see Season of the Witch with friends. It was the chosen movie simply because we knew it would be terrible. Medieval Nicholas Cage and witches, how could it not be? WE were not disappointed in the slightest and spent much of the walk back to our cars discussing the finer points of the plot. For example, why couldn't a powerful witch pick one rusty lock, or why go to that lever of subterfuge to obtain the one book that could destroy you if you actually leave the literate people alive for the entire journey.
In act one, we have Nicholas Cage and his heterosexual life mate, Snarky Ron Perlman, lose faith in their Crusade. Raid after raid we see the pair getting more and more disenchanted with the Church. It is only when they are directed to attack women and children that the duo peace out. On their way back home, they are roped into escorting a supposed witch to a monastery where a religious ritual can be performed to rid the countryside of her spells. Cage is having none of this business, even going so far as to say he "serves the church no longer." He changes his mind when he sees the witch they are supposed to transport, but not in a romantic interest kind of way. He is seeking redemption for his actions in the crusades as the movie makes sure to point out at very critical plot points. So they embark on this treacherous journey with an old guy, a priest, a thief, and an idealistic kid with a bad mustache. The priests honestly believe that this girl is a witch and, as such, is the cause of the Black Plague. There is some speculation about whether or not this is true or just more of the same religious fervor seen during the crusades; always looking for a scape-goat. ***SPOILER ALERT***However as the movie goes on, the audience realizes that, scoff as he may, Nicholas Cage is very wrong about this so-called innocent. Hell breaks loose, there are zombie priests, and almost everyone dies in the end.***SPOILER ALERT***
On the way home, there was an article on NPR about religion in the Middle East and I started to wonder what the real message of this movie could possibly be. We see the obvious corruption of the Church in its repeated attacks on "non-believers" even going so far as to insist its knights attack defenseless women and children for their beliefs. But then Nicholas Cage comes back to the Church when faced with true evil. It's like the movie is acknowledging the ability of man to abuse the system but then tells you not to lose sight of what's important. Sure things may get out of hand now and again, but remember that you are finite and cannot possibly understand all the complexities of this world. So even if it looks like the church is being corrupt one shouldn't question it because some demon could have crafted a complicated plan to seize control of this plane of existence.
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