New Trailer for Restored Re-Release of 'The Juniper Tree' with Björk

"Out from here, away be gone." Arbelos Films has debuted a new trailer for the restored re-release of The Juniper Tree, a surrealist film from 1990 filmed in Iceland and made by filmmaker Nietzchka Keene. The film stars a young Björk (25 years old at the time) as a woman who flees her homeland in Iceland after her mother is killed for practicing witchcraft. Her older sister casts a spell on a farmer which makes him fall in love with her, but his son sees through her tricky plan. The full cast includes Bryndis Petra Bragadóttir, Valdimar Örn Flygenring, Guðrún Gísladóttir, and Geirlaug Sunna Þormar. This 4K restoration is from the Wisconsin Center for Film & Theater Research and The Film Foundation, with funding from the George Lucas Family Foundation. The Juniper Tree is described as a "potent allegory for misogyny and its attendant tragedies, [and] a major rediscovery for art house audiences." It seems very dreamlike and poetic.

Here's the new restoration trailer (+ poster) for Nietzchka Keene's The Juniper Tree, from YouTube:

And here's the original 90s trailer (+ VHS) for Nietzchka Keene's The Juniper Tree, also from YouTube:

Set in medieval Iceland, The Juniper Tree follows Margit (Björk in a riveting performance) and her older sister Katla (Bryndis Petra Bragadottir) as they flee for safety after their mother is burned to death for witchcraft. Finding shelter and protection with Johan (Valdimar Orn Fygenring), and his resentful young son, Jonas (Geirlaug Sunna Pormar), the sisters help form an impromptu family unit that’s soon strained by Katla’s burgeoning sorcery. Photographed entirely on location in the stunning landscapes of Iceland in spectacular black-and-white by Randy Sellars, The Juniper Tree is a deeply atmospheric film, evocative of Carl Theodor Dreyer's Day of Wrath and Ingmar Bergman's The Virgin Spring, and filled with indelible waking dream sequences (courtesy of legendary experimental filmmaker Pat O'Neill). The Juniper Tree is written and directed by American filmmaker Nietzchka Keene, her first feature film. It premiered at the 1990 Sundance Film Festival, but didn't open in Iceland until 1993. Arbelos will re-release The Juniper Tree in theaters at the Metrograph in NYC starting March 15th this month, with a nationwide rollout to follow.