Witch Way Love (1997)

So much average

Highly Overrated But Still Good

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

This is a film that you would enjoy on a quite evening at home but your expectations should be limited. Yes, it's a really nice movie with many scenes to laugh and enjoy overall but it certainly lacks something.My original rating would be 6 as every romantic comedy I have ever watched is rated between 6 and 7. I believe that Un amour de sorcière is falling behind mostly because of the audience that have watched it and its comparison to the French cinema that surely has more to present that this movie. Vanessa Paradis and Jan Reno are exceptional as always. Jeanne Moreau is a pleasant breeze that keeps the film from diving too deep but she can only go that far. It could have been better but sometimes although the plot was interesting and original it seemed erratic and failed to fully deliver. It should be approached more like a TV movie that took you by surprise than anything else. It's more like a fairytale. Regarding the plot, I have to admit that I liked it and still after all these years I find it sweet and rather intruding. If someone had to summarize it with some spoilers it would be about a witch a painting and a wish that resulted to a baby boy. I always liked to think that Mr. Firth was the prince of the painting as it is hinted at some point. Nonetheless, I don't believe that this film would be a let down for the female audience. The young will enjoy the story while the mature ones will enjoy Jeanne Moreau, the French countryside and the absence of euro. *Concerning nudity it doesn't have much to concern you but the sex scene although not explicit is certainly not just a cuddle at an open field.*

Un Amour de Sorcière had been marketed worldwide with its English feature under the title of "Witch Way Love", that includes the same cut as the French version. Obviously, each one of the actors have done their own voice-over dubbing. During the Autumn of 1998, while Alice Hoffman's novel adaptation film "Practical Magic" was at the theatres, Witch Way Love was on the TV channels in response to that. Both Nicole Kidman and Vanessa Paradis, having the kindred spirits, had made people think they watch the same movie what they've seen on silver-screen.In my opinion, Witch Way Love delivers a warmer welcome from a deeper fantasy world. Whereas, Practical Magic was happening in the real world. Other than the great chemistry between Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman; the concept was a failure, since it was an awful adaptation. Though, Witch Way Love was its director's self-written production and whole actors here have offered a great commitment. Technically we're focused into an outstanding cinematography.The plot is about the endless rivalry between the good and the evil. Even though the good is weak, is not alone. For the evil draws negativity, distrust and bad reputation among the authorities of the fantasy world-like the immortal wizard Merlin- ; the whole world comes together to assist the good against the villain. Vanessa Paradis as the good-hearted witch shares the leading role with Jean Reno playing her cousin Molok,the grim warlock.This film is one of Vanessa Paradis's career highlights. On the other hand, Jean Reno didn't fit with the evil character, for his mood was more likely to play within a duo in order to be funny and evil at once. The cast should have been planned better. Jean Reno needed a partner.Looking for a godfather for the last infant of their witch race; Morgane(Vanessa Paradis) came across with an adventurer, who shares the same rising sign of the same zodiac sign and born on the same day and the same night with the same eclipse of the moon with the baby. So, she reads the birthstone to cast a spell on the adventurer to have him as the godfather of the baby. But the spell has a side effect that she falls in love with the adventurer. There are so many coincidences or better to say serendipity almost every other scene for endless laughs. It's an excellent choice for a family movie.

Watching this film in French, with the French dialogs, was a little disconcerting as the dialog obviously did not match the lips. This confirms the trivia above, that the film was recorded in both English and French. My guess, with the American actors in the film, is that the filming was done in English and then dubbed over with the French dialog. Yet this must have been done by the original French actors, as the voices for Jean Reno, Vanessa Paradis, and Jeanne Moreau are correct, i.e., they match their other films. In the French version, Americans such as Dabney Coleman are dubbed and the voices are not their own. Bottom line, as an Anglophone watching the film in French, you don't have the clues of the lips matching the voices to help you in understanding the words. Otherwise, though, the dialog is relatively clear, and not as difficult or as full of slang as some crime flicks I have seen.