Since then, it has been doing the rounds of various European Film Festivals for over a year now, as well as going on general release in several countries.
Now in the summer of 2016, it is finally being shown in the UK. I remember being highly intrigued by the trailer. Not only did it look absolutely gorgeous. But it looked to be about fairy tales, and that certainly made me want to check this out. Despite the makers being pretty much all Italian, the cast was quite mainstream for a film that does have that European feel to it.
Fairy tales have always fascinated me. Despite us getting told about them as kids, the actual fairy tale seems to always have a gruesome ending. This particular film looked like it would be the latter. If executed well, this gamble of checking it out could pay off for me.
Well, I ended up being pretty overwhelmed by this dark, twisted, yet magical tale that you get with every fairy tale.
I have to say that if you know how fairy tales/folklore work and like them for that, then this is the perfect film to watch. You can really feel that touch of fantasy mixing in with love and obsession, which is what you get with pretty much every fairy tale.
Director Matteo Garrone and his team have put together three stories that loosely intertwine throughout the film, a bit like Pulp Fiction. You dip into each story instead of telling each one individually, which for me was the right thing to do. All show various portrayals of how love and obsession are the same thing and that it can make you do things without caring about the consequences.
It might not fit in with the fantasy films that you know. It is more medieval fantasy and can also be 'old-wives' tales that eventually get blown out of proportion over various generations. A good example for comparison is something like King George and how he slayed the dragon.
The performances were pretty solid on the whole. The big stand-outs for me were Shirley Henderson, Hayley Carmichael and Bebe Cave, as well as the always good Toby Jones. It was great to see Salma Hayek not only in a film that is not an Adam Sandler comedy, but a film with a lot of craftsmanship and her performance being a highlight. Definitely her best performance since Frida. Vincent Cassel played a nice supporting role, as well as Christian and Jonah Lees and Guillaume Delauney.
From a technical standpoint, everything is so well crafted. From the gorgeous cinematography, to the impressive costume design, the lovely choice of locations and the charming score by Alexandre Desplat. All of that just made me pretty overwhelmed by not just how it was made, but how it was executed.
Even some of the small amounts of visual effects seemed to blend well into the live action. Bit it seemed that they preferred to use practical effects and animatronics in scenes you would usually see CGI in them. That certainly gives this film some more positives from me.
From initially thinking I would be impressed with the visuals and confused by the story, ended up really enjoying it. So much so, that I would happily own it once it is out on DVD.
I don't think anything will prepare for this strange story. But like I said, if you understand the true nature of fairy tales and enjoy that part of it. Then you will get the most out of it. It is certainly an acquired taste, and I ended liking so much of it. Also, the the 2hrs 13mins duration completely flew by. I never once check the time, and that hardly ever happens.
It is a pretty impressive piece of work that will sadly not be watched by enough people. Check it out if you can and at least give it a chance.
Rating: 8/10
No comments:
Post a Comment