Der Elfengarten

Far better than I expected and wrongfully neglected. A dark and profound examination of agnosticism and faith that is quite remarkable, with unexpected twists and shocks. I very much recommend this film, particularly the performance by Toby Stephens who is, in a word, amazing.

Photographing Fairies was loosely based on the book of the same name by Steven Szylagi. It deals with a fictional fairy incident of two girls, in post World War 1 England, who claimed to have photographed fairies; as seen through the cynical eyes of a photographer bent on proving the girls false. Charles Castle, a British photographer who specializes in trick photography. He is a man haunted by the death of his wife. Following a visit to a Philosophical Society meeting where he debunks the mystical by explaining tricks of the camera along side Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, he is approached by a woman who has taken a photograph of her daughter with a fairy standing in her hand and is asked to try and disprove the pictures using empirical logic and the modern camera obscura. This begins his adventure into a world he has never believed in and has gone out of his way to disprove. What he finds is unexpected and spiritually magical. Photographing Fairies is as surprising and touching a movie as it is haunting. High-quality cinema at its best - great acting, a clever story, superb special effects, spell binding soundtrack, and an intriguing examination of the religious and philosophical questions we all face. Love, death, grief, spirituality, and rebirth / redemption; these are the critical elements that weave throughout this movie. Toby Stephens gives a stunning performance as a character, Charles Castle who radiates Humanity and feeling, portraying the personal conflict of a man grasping for understanding years after the tragic accidental death of his wife on their honeymoon. Ben Kingsley offers a ruggedly convincing yet disturbing performance as the country preacher (and father of the girls) ministering to his flock amidst the spiritual void of his times in a post WWI English village. He masks the feelings of pride, avarice, rage, homicide, jealousy, infidelity, gluttony, nearly all the seven deadly sins and more. His is the perfect counter to the fantasy elements and brings a convincing sense of realism to the storyline. The girls in this movie are surprisingly innocent in their well-scripted dialogue and action scenes. They are pivotal characters to the childlike view that pits adult sensibilities and reason to the spiritual test.

The music was a subtle treasure throughout the movie. Its main theme is played as everything from a dance tune to a funeral dirge, and it will stay with you far after the movie. It is that `haunting' quality of the tune that adds that extra ethereal touch to the total effect of the movie. The 'death song' is a part of Beethoven's Seventh Symphony, and has been recorded by Sarah Brightman as Figlio Perduto. The movie has definite religious undertones. Photographing Fairies makes no distinctions about beliefs. The preacher-father character is the pastor for a small church, and the heaven ideas can be adapted to suit almost any taste. Its challenge is to the basis of belief itself, and begs to ask a single daunting question "What if heaven were as real as a place?" Much of the magic that makes Photographing Fairies such a resounding success is the elements of love / death / and the longing to recapture ones state of personal grace. A feeling of redemption as real and achievable as the magic of a child's innocence. No matter what your philosophical/religious beliefs are, you will be moved by what you feel in this movie. Its touching message will compel you to view this movie over-and-over again.

A darker, more metaphysical take on FAIRY TALE: A TRUE STORY which came out also in 1997. Where FT is suitable for older kids, this one certainly is not. This film features many of the same characters as FT, including Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, two cute little girls, and the Theosophical Society, and theme, we are taken on a very dark journey that explores use of halluciongenic plants as a way to view the fairy folk. There are no fairy tale happy endings here.

Go ahead and rent this film and FT. Let your kids enjoy FT, and after you tuck them into bed, watch PF and spend the rest of your evening comparing and contrasting the surprisingly similar and strikingly different films..

A few years ago I stumbled across this book by Steve Szilagyi (quite a name he got himself there), I read it a couple of times, thought it was an entertaining story with some interesting themes... and then I pretty much forgot all about it. Until now, where I stumbled across it on DVD, didn't even know it was made as a film, and so I gave it a shot yesterday, not hoping for much (tiny British films aren't always the epitome of excitement).

A positive surprise. The film is about a British photographer who's specialized in trick photography after he came home from WW1. He's a rational man, to the point where he's almost dead inside (the very opposite of Arthur Conan Doyle who also shows up in the tale, played by the guy who played Watson in the TV show btw) but that changes when a woman brings him some photos she claims show her daughters playing in their garden with a bunch of... you guessed it, fairies.

This is essentially a fantasy film, but it's not quite like most other fantasy films; questions about belief is the central theme, but it's stretched and played around with so it's constantly intriguing, even for a cynical agnostic (atheist if you're Christian) like me. Is heaven a state of mind, and if so, does that make it less worth? How do you find truth in life, and is it ever better to lie about the truth for the sake of those you love? Thematically they've incorporated many of the more "out there" ideas from the book in rather clever ways; drugs, sex, violence, are also themes in Szilagyi's innocently looking book, and the filmmakers have tried to stay true to this. This isn't some film about small creatures with crowns on their heads who smiles a lot, nor is it a funny Spielbergian flick, it's an exploration of grief and obsession and how those things can affect our beliefs, shake us to the very core. Yeah, it doesn't sound very jolly, which I guess it isn't, but it's interesting.

The cast is excellent, the music and photography far better then I had expected (same goes for the limited fx). Going by the cover and BBC's name on it somewhere, I actually thought it was maybe a TV movie. Really brilliant use of slow motion, not just for kicks, as a gimmick, even though it looks ravishing as well, but actually done in a meaningful way with regards to the plot (though that's easier to see if you've read the book).

The writers have changed a lot with regards to the plot; shuffled around, condensed, introduced new scenes/characters, and so on, but that's like it should be. Any attempt to take the book directly from the page would've failed miserably. They've even introduced a completely new intro & ending as well. It works like a charm, though some might find it a bit too convenient.

I did have some problems with it though... the lead is deliberately almost always kept at arms length, which is okay in some ways, but leads to detachment. I ended up finding his destiny more stimulating and interesting then gripping. There is also the inherent problem a book like this one poses when turned into a movie; how do you visualize ideas and thoughts. How do you visualize symbols? Film is a literal medium, and so it can't hide things the way language can, this film proofs that by coming up short in some of the books most magnificent sequences (but it improves on others); this isn't a fault from the filmmakers, what can they do after all, but it is a problem when they've chosen a story that is essentially more about mystical/spiritual question (going all new age here) then it is about the literal discovery of fairies.

Anyway, despite my few complaints, and despite the fact that this is not a mind blowing, life altering, hyper super fantastic religious experience of a film, I still highly recommend it. It's a rather unique and different attempt to play in the fantasy pen, and that is to be applauded I think. It's also pretty entertaining... if your idea of a good time is a bunch of Brits running around in gardens searching for fairies that is.

What a shame that this movie came out around the same time as the *other* fairy movie. This is decidedly NOT for children. It's a lovely, dreamy, haunting, and sometimes erotic story about love and loss. The performances are fine, and the cinematography is often stunning. A high concept action flick, it isn't. It's often slow with lingering, seemingly meaningless static shots. And don't go in expecting anything cute or cuddly. Even the requisite children are a bit off-putting. But it's well worth sitting through, especially for the last few minutes of the movies, which had me in tears.