“Witches and witchcraft loom largely in the popular culture of the Basques, serving at times as a symbol of resistance to the increasing encroachment on regional rights by the Spanish authorities. Set at the end of the seventeenth century, Akelarre details the political aspects of the Inquisition as it was applied to the cult of the ‘brujas' found in the region of Navarre. Fearful that the peasants on his lands have been conspiring against him, Don Fermin calls upon the services of Padre Acevedo to root out those in league with ‘Satan.' Their efforts focus especially on Garzi, a woman whose grandmother had been burned as a witch and who had once been involved with Don Fermin's son. Akelarre beautifully captures the rich although deeply repressed mystic strain in Basque culture, with its atavistic rites and emphasis on matriarchal structures.” Richard Peña, The Film Center