Grimm

In a loose adaptation of "Hansel and Gretel", Dutch siblings Jacob and Marie are abandoned by their parents and eventually make their way to Spain. In Spain, Marie marries surgeon Diego. Everything looks normal at first, but it becomes apparent that Diego might not be quite what he seems, especially after Jacob tries to drag Marie away from him.

What's really neat about "Grimm" is how it plays with the audience. After they leave the Netherlands, you think that the movie's important part has already happened, but you're wrong. Dead wrong. That door in Diego's house gives me the feeling that along with "Hansel and Gretel", there's also a tinge of "Bluebeard" here. And I wonder if that town at the end is the one where they filmed the spaghetti westerns. All in all, this is black comedy at its neatest.

At last we can see a movie that makes us Dutch folks laugh. It's based on a fairy tale of Grimm. It worth watching because I didn't see any better Dutch movie this year. Also I recommend De Noorderlingen en Kleine Teun.

This film has a rather impressive billing, with the version I rented stated "siblings Jacob and Marie embark on a surreal, often night-marrish odyssey." The movie starts out Hansel and Gretel-esquire in that regard, but doesn't move much further. There is a journey to be had, if one is interested in following two characters whom they know little about through different cities where they meet different people. The meetings have very little value to them, however, and the characters often meet conflict that is unexplained. Furthermore, movement between locales is poorly motivated and a unified agenda never sets imposes itself. If these meetings were accompanied by the surrealism that the movie billing suggests, I could have still walked away happily, but unfortunately the surrealism in the meetings is itself limited because much of what could have made a scene eerie is left unaddressed. As far as the comedy, the movie fails to win stars in that department as well. There are two or three hilarious encounters, but most of the comedy is a sort of "why would anybody do that" type of humor. Suits some, obviously. On the whole, the film is built for people with short memory spans, as segments really don't have any connection to each other. This fact is acceptable for the first 40 minutes, but by the 41st, you will certainly ask yourself why you are still watching, hoping that something relevant will occur.

I cannot totally smash the movie, however, as the colors were quite vibrant and the journey itself is something that certain watchers might find interesting in its own right. Also, it must be said that Halina Reijn, the lead female, is exciting to watch. Her facial expressions, her candor in front of camera. Of course, she's beautiful. I should also mention that a greater understanding of the Brothers Grimm and their folk tales might lend itself to a greater appreciation of the film. It was clear that this was the case with the 2005 Matt Damon film, but with this one, it is less obvious whether a greater understanding of the tales would make Grimm better.

If you're going to watch it, make sure you school yourself on the back story (the Brother's Grimm tales).

You might propably not like this film at all. I think this is of these films that need the viewer to be open minded. You should not go and view it if you are stuck to reality, or too used to Hollywood blockbusters. If you are one of those who say: No, you cannot go from Holland to Spain with one tank of gasoline, you should never watch this film! However, if you feel that odd things might very well be possible in films, and you don't care about odd things in films, this might be the one for you!

I think viewing it requires a bit of knowledge about fairy tales. Yes, the ones by the GRIMM brothers. The same way as the Coen Brothers knew how to use an old existing story and place it in modern times without loosing the context, Alex van Warmerdam took a story and found how to remake it in a modern way. The same sense of absurd humor, but maybe a little less funny, than o brother were art thou. van Warmerdam, however knew very well how to keep the way of storytelling by the grimm brothers intact. The flickering way of storytelling, combined with a fine feeling of suspense, makes this into one of my best Dutch films recently.

I think this movie is unconventional and offbeat. I really liked it. I have seen it twice so far. It is also displays how one can go through hardships, bad luck. And yet keep going without disappointment and frustration. Both the characters though inspired from Hansel and Gretel are quite original. Movie is scripted very well. It starts with a small village in Netherlands bringing them to various places changing their lives drastically. Moral of the story is : Face it and handle it without complains!

Grimm Rocks!

I think this movie is unconventional and offbeat. I really liked it. I have seen it twice so far. It is also displays how one can go through hardships, bad luck. And yet keep going without disappointment and frustration. Both the characters though inspired from Hansel and Gretel are quite original. Movie is scripted very well. It starts with a small village in Netherlands bringing them to various places changing their lives drastically. Moral of the story is : Face it and handle it without complains!

Grimm Rocks!