A CURSED MAN
- filmsinreview
- Mar 6
- 4 min read
by Victoria Alexander
As the widespread belief in witchcraft and curses exists, there is enough history to accept it as a real phenomenon. Le Guillou’s travel documentary challenging the subject brings it into the mainstream. Don’t bring your small children to Rwanda.
In my extensive “feet on the ground” studying spiritualism all over the world, I can say that curses are real. This is why I always carry protection so that negative influences cannot touch me. I have a shrine to the Orixás Exu. Exu is one of the most well-known spirits of the Brazilian religion and related African-derived traditions. Exu is a powerful spirit who functions as Divine Messenger and Gatekeeper to the Spirit World. Nothing can be accomplished in the human world or the spirit world without the permission of Exu. He is a bridge between humans and the supernatural world—the sacred and the profane. Every living thing has a personal Exu.
I am a member of an Umbanda church in Brazil. All the spirit circles I have been in are protected spaces and I have never felt any fear participating in the rituals.
The Amazon is well known for assault sorcery and malicious witchcraft. I have tried to find a brujo, but, even though I have reliable contacts, no one would help me find one. I studied with a Western shaman and Don Ron Wheelock, an Ayahuasquero, both in Peru who have been cursed by “brujeria.” Jealous shamans, who do not want Western shamans operating ayahuasca retreats, have successfully struck retreat “competitors” with invisible deadly darts. The darts give specific sharp pain. If not removed by another brujo, these invisible darts can cause death.
A CURSED MAN is a documentary by Liam Le Guillou using himself as the subject to find out if black magic is real. Can a witch really curse someone successfully? Le Guillou goes to several black arts practitioners in New Orleans, California, Africa, Mexico and India.
Le Guillou is cautioned to be aware of the possible dangers of entering into this project. Through contacts, Le Guillou finally succeeds in persuading two black arts “witches” to perform rituals to curse him. This is fascinating and compelling. And then the film takes a turn, as you start to consider the possibility he has actually found means to be cursed. The rituals look authentic. You come to respect the few practitioners who refuse to place a curse on Le Guillou. Everyone he meets is willing to discuss their practice and the history of their craft.
If these supernatural craftsmen can alter reality, why not ask for something positive? Good things happen to people but when something bad happens without a logical cause (being severely injured in a car crash when blind drunk) one does have to opine what the person routinely did to get such bad luck. In many parts of the world, a freak accident, a crippling fall or losing all one’s possessions, can be attributed to a curse. Outside of the Western world, sorcery is a fact of life with a thriving clientele.
After being assured he has been cursed, Le Guillou cannot wait for the curse to find the opportunity to strike, so he decides to tempt the curse’s effects by giving it opportunities to “ply it’s trade.”
How does one interpret a crisis to a curse or just bad luck? The scientists Le Guillou talks to suggest that if one fears they have been cursed, anything that happens to them is proof of the curse.
Instead of waiting around for the curse to take effect in its own good time, Le Guillou goes mountain biking and injures his knee. His reckless biking is a logical conclusion he intentionally hurt himself. Then he starts having nightmares. These nightmares are so upsetting that Le Guillou starts to believe this is the manifestation of the curse and he seeks out a “coven” to perform an intense ritual to counter the curse and free him.
For someone who believes in witchcraft and the black arts, they would never pursue a curse for themselves. It’s usually for an enemy. Le Guillou does not answer the question I have: “How much does a curse cost?”
The practice of child sacrifice in Sub-Saharan Africa is widespread. Children, especially albinos and orphans, have become more and more the victims of witchcraft. As well as using children for witchcraft, children are often subjected to being witches. Accusations of witchcraft in Africa are a very serious matter as the witch is culturally understood to be the epitome of evil and the cause of all misfortune, disease and death. Consequently, the witch is the most hated person in African society and subjected to punishment, torture and even death.
According to recent research, child witchcraft accusations is spreading from Africa to areas with African immigrant populations. In some cases this has led to ritualized abuse and even murder, particularly in the UK.
"The ALL is Mind; The Universe is Mental."
Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer Critic.
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Contributing to:FilmsInReview: http://www.filmsinreview.com
Member of Las Vegas Film Critics Society
Personal email: victoria.alexander.lv@gmail.com