Belladonna of Sadness

"Belladonna of Sadness" was relased in 1973 by Mushi Production. It was released as part of the Animerama trilogy which featured the other films "A Thousand and One Nights" (1969) and "Cleopatra" (1970).

The release of the film caused the studio to go completely bankrupt. It had screening in Japan, a few European countries, and there were some one-off screenings in America.

The film was inspired by the book "La Sorcière" by Jules Michelet from 1862. The book was about the lives and trails of witches. The main theme from the book of witchcraft being an act of rebellion for the lower class aganist the Catholic Church can be viewed throughout the film.

The film is set in a rural village in medieval France. Jeanne and Jean get married but tragedy strikes. On Jeanne's wedding night she is brutally raped by the local baron and his courtiers as payment for the wedding.

When Jeanne returns home, Jean strangles her before fleeing from the house. Then a phallic spirit visits Jeanne and tells her it can make Jeanne powerful. She eventually becomes rich selling cloth and Jean becomes a tax collector for the baron. The baron's wife gets jealous and accuses Jeanne of witchcraft causing her to flee into the wilderness.

The spirit visits her here and makes a deal with her, giving her magical powers after revealing itself to be the Devil. Jeanne returns to the village to see it infected with the plague. She uses her new powers to cure the villagers and win over their favor. She also introduces them to ~orgiastic~ rituals. The baron decided to give Jeanne the second highest noble rank in the land as a reward for the cure, but she refuses. Angered by this, the baron burned Jeanne at the stake.

The core of the film is how it portrays women, they way they are viewed in society, and their roles in society.

The scene where Jeanne was raped would usually be portrayed in film in a very exploitative way by our society. However, the opposite was true in this case. The scene focuses on an artistic interpretation of her experince, shifting the view from what is usually just violence aganist women to the experince of the victim. This is further demonstarted in how the baron and his courtiers aren't shown for a majority of the scene.

When Jeanne becomes more powerful its a direct result of her sexuality. To gain this power she has to exchange sexual favors with the Devil. This demonstartes how in society women are expected to use their sexuality to gain power and postions in society. There are also sex positive messages in the film. Female villgers are shown later in the film enjoying sexual freedom taught to them by Jeanne.

Jeanne gets accused of witchcraft because of her newfound power. This represents how women in high positions are seen as intimidating and a threat.

At the end of the film, while Jeanne is being burned at the stake, the audience of villagers is shown. The faces of the women turn into Jeanne's before the history of the French Revolution is quickly shown.

This represents how Jeanne set an example for the villagers, more specifically the women. She set an example by standing out aganist the common beliefs and expanding the knowledge of the villagers.

The quick history of the French Revolution, while confusing, does have significane. The spread of Jeanne's ideas and confidence helped inspired the French people to start the French Revolution. (This is a very strange plot point in the film but just go with it.) The ending definitely feels rushed but I think it adds a VERY unexpected element to the films plot.