Hansel and Gretel

Hansel and Gretel is a dark fairy tale, so well suited to the visual style and thematic interests of director Robert Eggers. The story will be familiar, but what makes this film fascinating is the recreation of 1920s German expressionism. One could easily mistake this for the work of Murnau or Robert Weine. The black and white photography is beautiful, and the production design is effective and eerie. Hugely impressive for an early, presumably low-budget, short film. That said, it does play as essentially a student exercise, albeit a high-standard one. Nice piece of work and clear sign of the talent Eggers would continue to demonstrate.