The Sorcerer or the Strange Appearance of Dionysi Stefano Dionysi after “Puppet” changes his image and appears in the fantastic film “The Wizard” (L’arcano incantatore) 1996 directed by Pupi Avati. The film was shot in Umbria, in Tenuta di Fiori, near Todi - an incredibly beautiful place with medieval monasteries, mountains, a lake. “The Witch” received the Silver Raven at the International Fantastic Film Festival in Brussels in 1998.
For Dionysi, The Witch is another historical, costume, atmospheric film, the plot of which takes the viewer to 1750. Stefano finally gets the lead role (after the seemingly passable Eugenio, Pharaoh and Flavio) of seminarian Giacomo Wijetti. He is forced to leave Bologna to avoid prosecution after dishonoring a girl who later had an abortion. A young man in search of a place where he could hide, goes to the villa to meet with an elderly lady who, hiding behind the screen, concludes a deal with him “on blood”, taking as a pledge the sackcloth of Giacomo’s mother with the promise to return him after the execution of the errand.
In the direction of the mysterious lady, the guy takes refuge in Medelan, in the Bologna Apennins, and performs the duties of the secretary of one incomprehensible character, a priest who has retired from the Church because of his occult studies, and received the nickname “secret speller” (Carlo Cecchi).
He lives alone, surrounded by volumes of a giant library, and Giacomo must replace Nerio, a previous assistant who has just died under unclear circumstances. There have been mixed rumors about this death. Giacomo takes part in esoteric experiments and from time to time writes encrypted codes for dictation, after which he must take them to an anonymous recipient.
The two are bound by fate, and the young man quickly becomes convinced that there is nothing supernatural about his teacher’s telepathy and magic. After a while in the village begin to say that Nerio comes back to life. Giacomo learns, informs the priest, but he demands not to give it meaning. At night, Giacomo digs up the body of Nerio and takes it to the shepherd of the village, where he is surprised to find that it is the body of a priest.
The young man realizes that in fact Nerio is the priest and after a fight with him escapes. Trying to get his deposit back, he makes a bitter discovery.
A ghost that can’t rest, a dead man dug up, a young man who can’t get out of all these secrets, an old sorcerer who keeps his secrets, a beautiful old library. For Awati, it's a favorite genre. This film is not an imitation of mystical English cinema, but in the plot itself you are unlikely to find something “useful”.
Dionysi will star in the Thriller twice. His mysterious appearance is quite conducive to the appearance in an unusual way or in the mysterious circumstances of the film. But it is quite unusual just to look at him, because Dionysi is an actor who always has something to learn from, even if he plays the role of a negative character.
This film should just watch, enjoy the incredible landscapes, marvel at the skill of costumers, makeup artists and how freely get used to the era of actors.
Very good close-ups with Dionysi. It is in the prime of beauty. His face is no longer the face of a boy, but is akin to those samples that can only be found walking through the museum halls with antique sculpture. It decorates the gloomy atmosphere of a mysterious castle. The likeness of a haircut worn on a naked body, a bloody bandage on the palm of your hand - all these are small things that make a fantastic plot true.
Despite the fact that “The Witch” is not the most famous film in Russia, and there were positive reviews on it: “A wonderful plot, perfect camera work, deliberate slowness, fascinating atmosphere, beautiful acting. Smart, gloomy, luxuriously filmed mystical detective, or rather just mysticism. Medieval. No meat, no action, no blood, no special effects. Only the two main characters and a few secondary ones, the action flowing like blood from the distended veins - not fast or slow. It's also unusual. The 18th century era, costumes and furnishings are recreated on a "five plus" basis. http://stalhammar.livejournal.com/ ).