Matteo Garrone's English-language debut, Tale of Tales, is a lavish fantasy film that tells three interweaving stories, all of which are centered around royalty. Without question this is the biggest budget Matteo Garrone has had to play with and the film doesn't disappoint on that level, being a beautifully realized film thats production design, art direction, and cinematography work in unison to make this fantastical world which these characters inhabit truly come to life. The film wholly captures the magic of fantasy storytelling, transporting the viewer to a world unlike their own, but I'd be lying if I didn't wish the film had a little more to say. Unlike most of Garrone's previous work, Tale of Tales primary function is to entertain with its beautiful sets and fantastical stories, each of which is engaging, interesting, but not nearly as intellectual as I would have expected, given the filmmaker's earlier work. While the film's moral isn't clearly defined, Tale of Tales seems to have something to say about the corruptive powers of decadence, as all three stories find perversion slowly consuming aspects of these privileged individuals. The first story is the most obvious in that regard, which finds a queen openly sacrificing her husband's life for the sake of having an offspring, showing absolutely no empathy for her fallen lover after he sacrifices his life so her wishes can be granted. The Queens selfishness doesn't end with the birth of her son either, as she shows a desire to have him all to herself, unwilling to let her son be friends with his half-brother. Another story finds a King offering his daughters hand to a monster, due to his own personal arrogance, a story that also speaks to the corruptive power of decadence and privilege, but my favorite example of this comes in the form of the third story, the tale of two sisters. Without going into many details, this tale was the most resonant for me, one of tragedy and desire, which also gives Garrone an ability to tell a perverse tale of vanity and youthful desire. Featuring three wholly original stories that capture the magic of fairy tales, Garrone injects this film with his own perverse style, and while Tale of Tales' thematic intentions aren't as interesting, defined or profound as I was hoping for, there is no denying the fact that Garrone has created an original fairy tale of extravagant beauty.
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AuthorLove of all things cinema brought me here. Archives
June 2023
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