Les sorcières de Salem

In the beginning of the XVII Century, certain protestant sects left England heading to North America. In 1692, Salem, Massachusetts, was one of the most powerful and austere colonies.

After seven months of sexual abstinence of his frigid wife Elisabeth (Simone Signoret), the hard-worker farmer John Proctor (Yves Montand) has sex twice with the seventeen year-old virgin servant Abigail Williams (Mylène Demongeot) that is infatuated on him. When the other servant Mary Warren (Pascale Petit) sees John sneaking to Abigail's room during the night, she calls Elisabeth that sends Abigail back to her uncle's home.

When a group of women are accused of witchcraft, the manipulative and wicked Abigail manipulates Mary and other hysteric girls to revenge against Elisabeth, telling that they can see spirits and accusing the innocent Sarah Good and Elisabeth of witchcraft. The local Reverend Paris (Jean Debucourt), the Governor Danforth (Raymond Rouleau) and other politicians support the accusation expecting to increase their power against the repressed inhabitant. John and other dwellers are imprisoned and only a confession can save them from the gallows.

"Les Sorcières de Salem" a.k.a. "The Crucible" is an impressive unknown film based on a true story. The magnificent screenplay explores the theme of manipulation and fight for power by the powers that be in the XVII Century, the same way the McCarthyism did in the Twentieth Century or the lie about the weapons of mass destruction in Iraq more recently, using the ignorance or omission of the population. The performances are top-notch, highlighting the talented Mylène Demongeot in an ambiguous role. Unfortunately this film has never been released on VHS or DVD in Brazil, and in Amazon is only available on an expensive VHS. My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil): "As Virgens de Salem" ("The Virgins of Salem")

Note: On 21 September 2023, I saw this film again on a DVD released by Versátil do Brasil.