Movie review XXX "Juliette of the Herbs," a documentary by Tish Streeten. 75 minutes. Grand Illusion Cinema. No rating.
With kava kava, ginseng and St. John's Wort finding their way into everything from chewing gum to brightly hued sodas available in any convenience store, it's evident that the tenets of holistic medicine have hit the commercial mainstream. However, long before herbal supplements were taken for granted as another smoothie ingredient, Juliette de Bairacli Levy was discovering the powers of healing with plants.
"Juliette of the Herbs" tells the story of an English veterinarian and her lifelong pursuit of nature's medicinal remedies. Born in 1913, the young, traditionally trained vet left the animal hospital setting to seek out Gypsy, nomadic and indigenous tribes with an understanding of natural healing. After spending her life among them all across Europe, Juliette documented her findings, becoming a pioneer in herbal medicine and in the vanguard of holistic veterinary care.
In the film, a hunched and brightly clad Juliette first comes into view in her secluded garden on the small Greek isle of Kithira, picking flowers, ambling from bush to bush with her ever-present Afghan hound, and munching thoughtfully from a bowl of nasturtium leaves. From there, the story pulls outward, away from her almost solitary existence, to her family and friends, and finally to admirers such as the veterinary community and practitioners of natural medicine who have been greatly affected by her work.
A sort of New Age Dr. Doolittle, Juliette is extremely gentle and earnest, especially when expressing her love for all animals and plants. She converses with her bushes, birds and olive trees and there is one endearing scene in which she proclaims her affection for a field of cows. "I love you! I'm going to help you! I promise . . . You're my favorite animal!" she shouts, clutching an impromptu bouquet of flowers. Although one reviewer likened the moment to a Monnty Python sketch, it's touchingly obvious that Juliette is sincere.
Director Tish Streeten aptly uses a quiet, shimmering treatment of her subject. She supplements her own footage with archival film of Spain in the 1940s and remarkable photographs of Juliette as a young woman among the Gypsy caravans. The only misstep may be a brief segue consisting of close-up shots of churning waves that are more evocative of sea-sickness than visual poetry. Regardless, "Juliette of the Herbs" is a compact and lovingly told story about one woman who has appreciated and harnessed the power of nature in ways that today's ravaged environment may never be able to offer again.
- BY : Lisa Jahn
- SOURCE : Seattle Times1999.06.11
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