Drawing Down the Moon

Independent Film, Directed by Steve Patterson, Starring Walter Koenig

Reviewed by Chad A

OK, there has been some buzz about this film on the web for a few months now; a movie with a REAL witch in it, trying to be true to life and totally accurrate in it's portrayal of modern Witchcraft. Well, I finally got myself a copy and watched it, and you know what? It was GREAT!!

First, this movie is not about Witchcraft, which is the first thing I really liked about it. Oh, it certainly features a real, true to life Witch, Gwynyth, but the movie isn't all about her and her Witchcraft - it's about people, and community, and self esteem, and a whole barrel of good feelings, with some comedy and action thrown in to balance everything out.

You can get the basic movie synopsis from the movie website - a young woman, who happens to be a Witch, moves into a town and starts a homeless shelter, to try to revive the town from it's urban decline and give the people there some hope. Of course, there are all kinds of problems - some because she is openly a Witch, others for much more mundane reasons. The true magick of this movie, though, has nothing to do with the basic plot or synopsis - the true magick of this movie is in it's characters, how they react and interact with one another, and how real it all seems.

Take Gwynyth, the Witch central to the plot. She is certainly the most accurrate portrayal of a modern Witch I have even seen on film. she is extremely self-confident, very open and caring about everyone, and is always working for the good of all, no matter how tough things get for her personally. There is a truly wonderful scene - a local minister stops by the homeless shelter, 'Haven', and sees Gwynyth talking about the God and Goddess, blessing the food of the meal they are serving. He freaks out, and the next day there are two dozen picketers outside of 'Haven', led by the minister, shouting and holding signs that read 'Burn Witch Burn'. I will tell you right now, from direct experience, this happens in real life more than some people would like to admit. Well, Gwynyth and her friend Faith go to the Ministers' church a few days later and listen to his sermon, about loving your neighbor, stuff like that. After the sermon, Gwynyth goes right up to the minister and, instead of yelling or calling him a hypocrite, she extends her hand in open friendship, and invites him to come down to the shelter to see what's really going on, and to explain the truth about Witchcraft by allowing him to observe a healing ritual. He accepts, and a line of communication is opened between the two which later becomes very important. I just wish real life worked like that more often.

And now I can talk about the Magick. Magick and ritual were handled so well in this film, they could have been filming in my own living room. And it's not just 'Witchy Stuff' thrown in for shock value - it's treated with great respect, portrayed very well, and fits perfectly within the context of the movie. Most of the Magick scenes were of healing rituals - Faith, a woman Gwynyth befriends early in the film, has cancer. Gwynyth first asks her permission to work her with Healing Magick - a detail that really impressed me - and then does a daily healing ritual with Faith, calling the quarters, casting the circle - all the real deal. There are no special effects, no sparks shooting out, no levitation. And Faith doesn't 'Miraculously' become healed of the cancer, either - what Gwynyth really heals through the rituals is Faith's sense of hope and inner strength, and once those are healthy, Faith starts to feel better and overcome the cancer herself.

This really was a terriffic movie, and it wasn't just feel-good drama either - there is action - Gwynyth is also a master of the Martial Art Akido - and there are a lot of great humorous parts and characters throughout the film. One of my favorites is a skinhead thug - he is there as both an agressive element, and occasional comic relief. He gave himself a tattoo, for instance, that was supposed to say 'Satan Rules', but he misspells it, and ends up with 'Satin Rules' on his arm - really funny.

I liked this movie a lot, I really did, and so did the people I watched it with, all Witches themselves. The high points were many - the fact that it wasn't a 'Witchcraft' movie, but a movie that included elements of Witchcraft in the story; the way Witchcraft and ritual were treated, and the well drawn characters and their interactions with one another all make this a film well worth watching, even owning.

Finally, I hope this film does very well on video, because this is really one example of how I would like to see Wicca and Witchcraft treated on the big screen, and I think that if big-league hollywood sees a small independent film like this take off, they might start looking at the cinematic portrayal of Witchcraft a bit closer, taking it more seriously. I seriously hope so, anyway.

If you want more information on this movie, check out the link to the 'Drawing Down the Moon' website in the related features of this page - they have information about the making of the movie, as well as how you can purchase your own copy via mail order, phone, or right over the web. Also, I would like to recommend talking to your local video store or retailer about carrying this title - as I said, if we get the word out that this is a movie people like and ask for by name, then big-budget Hollywood might take notice, and that would be a good thing for all of us.