THE STORY – Witches are figures of solace in this intimate documentary, which unravels the social stigmas that women have endured across centuries. Between affecting interviews and vividly illustrative film clips, Elizabeth Sankey concocts a potion that brims with courage, compassion, and healing insight.
THE CAST – Sophia DiMartino, Catherine Cho, David Emson & Dr. Trudi Seneviratne
THE TEAM – Elizabeth Sankey (Director)
THE RUNNING TIME – 90 minutes
Witches have been depicted in books and films for centuries, often as evil, hideous women who wreak havoc on society wherever they go (consider the infamous Salem Witch Trials or movies like “Suspiria” and “The Witches“). But there’s more to these women than just spellcraft and potions, as director Elizabeth Sankey’s emotionally vulnerable and enlightening “Witches” brings to light. In fact, many women accused of witchcraft throughout history may have just been suffering from mental illness or didn’t fit in the mold of a “good woman” – something that continues to this day. For Sankey, it was the former, suffering after the birth of her first child. But that wouldn’t have mattered whatsoever about 400 years ago – she would have been classified as a “bad witch,” like the Wicked Witch of the West, and ostracized from her community, or worse, killed.
“Witches” is certainly not the first time a director has made themselves the subject of a documentary. Still, Sankey’s depiction of her post-partum experience, highlighting more often than not the difficulties she faced, is among the most vulnerable and moving examples of this type of film. Appearing in talking head interviews with beautiful, ethereal sets behind her, Sankey shares how she started feeling strange after giving birth, which at first was just considered the regular “baby blues” that go away on their own. But when she couldn’t eat or sleep, and thoughts of harming herself and her child wouldn’t escape her head, she knew this was something more serious.
Comparing her experience to other films, she felt more aligned with the struggles showcased in Jason Reitman’s “Tully,” which showed a woman overwhelmed with the demands of motherhood, than countless examples of mothers being angelic figures who have everything figured out. It’s refreshing to hear someone be candid about themselves and not shy away from diving into the dark chapters of their lives, something that’s been sorely missing in documentaries lately (especially those on pop culture figures). Recently, directors of those types of documentary films have taken a safe approach and never gone “too far” in their subjects’ lives. With Sankey in control of the project, she acknowledges there’s no point in telling this story if she’s unwilling to get into all the tough subject matter.
Aside from the director’s compelling narrative, the MVP of this documentary is the slick and impressively edited film footage, also helmed by Sankey, to further highlight her experiences. From classic witchy flicks (“The Witches of Eastwick” and “Practical Magic”) to films set in mental health institutions (“Girl, Interrupted” and “Unsane“) to those showcasing the maddening moments of motherhood (“Rosemary’s Baby”), it ends up being a fun game to see how many of these clips and references one can identify. Through these montages, Sankey is able to not only visually bring to life how she felt caring for her child and being in a mental health institution but also point out the film depictions that she couldn’t relate to. It makes you realize just how often motherhood is shown as this beautiful and life-affirming moment in a person’s life — which it certainly is — and so rarely as something that entirely changes a person’s brain chemistry.
How does all of this go back to witches? It takes some time to shift to this focus, but as Sankey points out, many of the post-partum symptoms she experienced, along with other women who provide interviews, are some of the same ones that women who were burned at the stake endured. Women who confessed to being witches said the devil had appeared and tempted them to kill their children. Similarly, women in this film detail truly hard-to-hear circumstances, such as Catherine, who claimed she saw the “devil in her son’s eyes” and saw vivid imagery, like people preparing flesh. There’s also the story of Daksha, a psychiatrist who killed her three-month-old daughter and herself during a state of psychosis. Back then, both of those women would have likely been classified as witches; today, doctors can point to a diagnosis of post-partum psychosis or severe depression. The overall connection to witches isn’t quite as strong – it’s clear this is mainly a film about motherhood – but it’s still fascinating to think about how many women suffered and died because of a lack of adequate health resources and how many continue to struggle today. These are the stories of motherhood that are rarely talked about, let alone shown in films, and it’s what makes “Witches” such a vastly important documentary.
It should be OK and safe for women to admit they’re not enjoying every moment of motherhood or that they need help. Still, the reality is that many are worried about what others will think, that they’ll lose custody of their children, or that their concerns will not be taken seriously. However, “Witches” gives the interviewees the space they need to disclose these instances. It’s certainly difficult to hear women, including some Sankey met in a mother and child mental health ward, say they felt like they wanted to escape their lives and didn’t recognize themselves after giving birth. But it’s also so valuable to hear these experiences. Please think of how many people could benefit from hearing these stories, realizing they’re not alone, and that help is available for them. Sankey and many others in “Witches” prove that these experiences are valid and that seeking help can only lead to better days.
Sankey’s “Witches” tells an ever-important tale of motherhood and mental health issues that are too often ignored or downplayed in society and the medical field. It’s unfortunate that, even with so many resources available today, there are so few facilities specializing in perinatal mental health services (not to mention how often women’s concerns are dismissed by those around them). There are 22 mother-and-child mental health institutions in the United Kingdom and only two in the United States. Hopefully, with the release of the thoughtful and vital “Witches,” more conversations about women’s health care can take place and lead to more research and services for post-partum women and make us all think twice about the silent suffering mothers carry within themselves.
