Blancanieves

I watched this film today at the Toronto International Film Festival. After many years of attending the festival, few if any films have made such an impact on me. Visually stunning, every scene shot in crisp black and white shouted out that colour is a mere distraction, a passing fad.

In a silent film, apart from the occasional inter-title, the visuals must tell the story, and in this case the filmmaker borrowed from the tropes of 1920s cinematic narrative, but added a more modern appreciation of human appetites and moralities. Much effort was made to reproduce the look and tone of classic silent film down to the 1.33:1 aspect ratio, but the current technologies used in production added an extra snap, crackle, and pop.

The story is Snow White, but set in the Seville of the 1920s: a girl, the daughter of a famous bullfighter, is raised by an evil stepmother. Instead of a mirror on the wall (though she has one of those, too) the stepmother relies on a fashion magazine to say who's the fairest of them all. A plot to kill the girl - now grown up - fails when she is rescued by a band of travelling bullfighting dwarfs who care for her until she's ready to fulfill her own destiny in the ring.

As befitting a fairy tale, the story is simple and direct, though there are shades of grey here and there in this black and white world of good and evil. But simple as it is, like the best children's stories, this one resonates at a deep level. And speaking of children, it can be debated whether any Grimm fairy tale is actually suitable for children. I would certainly not take a young child to see this one.

Have I mentioned the music? Anchoring the story to the setting, glorious Flamenco appears at key moments making the pulse quicken in time to the castanets.

Such a gorgeous film. I must see it again, if my heart can take it.

Beautifully shot , memorable roles and wonderful cinematography mark this special adaptation ¨Snow White¨ , being realized in ¨The artist¨ style . It is set in 1920s Seville . On the day Carmen was born , her father named Antonio Villalta (Daniel Gimenez Cacho) suffered a Toreo accident, and her mummy named Carmen De Triana died (Imma Cuesta) in childbirth . Her dad bullfighter quickly remarries a nurse , Encarna , (Maribel Verdú came aboard in 2006 after a conversation with Berger and stuck with it) , but the little girl is rejected by her father . Raised by her grandmother (Angela Molina) during her early years, Carmen went to live with Encarna while a teenager , but her Stepmom treated her as a slave . Many years later , the daughter meets her wheel-chaired and disabled daddy . The Stepmom/Stepdauther battle increases and the unbalanced and wrathful Stepmom orders her lover (Pere Ponce) Carmen's death . Carmen (Macarena Garcia) escapes and a group of bullfighting dwarfs save the life of young girl with amnesia . Only she's rescued by seven outcast dwarfs living in a carriage and acting by means of bullfighting spectacles .

Sensitive silent film full of good feeling , haunting mood-pieces , wonderful scenes and sense of wonder . This is a special adaptation of the Grimm Brothers fairy tale about the fairest them all . A twist on the Snow White fairy tale that and centered on a female bullfighter and definitely puts the grim in the Grimm Brothers version of the fairy tale . Colorful picture though filmed in Black and White , including marvelous frames , being mostly filmed at Sevilla, Andalucía, Aranjuez, Madrid, Pedraza , Segovia, Vilanova i la Geltrú, , Mataro , Barcelona, Catalonia , including sunny outdoor scenes . This extraordinary flick spells through intricate patterns of images , sets , sound and photography . In addition , a magnificent main cast as Maribel Verdu , Daniel Gimenez Cacho , Macarena Garcia and splendid support cast of known and prestigious players as Pere Ponce , Imma Cuesta , Ramon Barea , Angela Molina , among others . Splendid , luxurious photography with juicy atmosphere by Kiko De La Rica , it was shot on color film stock and desaturated to black & white in post-production . Moving and emotive musical score by Alfonso De Vilallonga who replaced Alberto Iglesias when he proved unavailable due to prior commitments.

There are other versions about this marvelous tale , as the classic animated rendition was ¨Snow White¨ (1937) , being the definitive rendition by Walt Disney ; ¨Snow White¨(1989) by Michael Berz with Diana Rigg , Billy Barty and Sarah Patterson , plus ¨Snow White a tale of terror¨ (1997) by Michael Cohn with Sigourney Weaver , Sam Neill and Monica Keena . The best adaptations result to be ¨Snow White¨ by Walt Disney and this ¨Blancanieves¨ or Snow White by Pablo Berger .

This touching picture will appeal to Spanish films buffs ; being deservedly the official submission of Spain to the Best Foreign Language Film of the 85th Academy Awards 2013, and won European Film Award , Best Costume Designer to Paco Delgado and several Gaudí Awards . Furthermore , achieved Goya prizes as Won Goya : Best Actress , Maribel Verdú , Best New Actress , Macarena García , Best Costume Design , Best Cinematography , Kiko De La Rica , Best Original Score , Alfonso de Vilallonga , Best Screenplay , Pablo Berger , Best Original Song , Best Make-Up and Hairstyles , Best Production Design , Best New Actor, Emilio Gavira , Best Special Effects : Reyes Abades , Ferran Piquer , Best Production Manager , Josep Amorós , and Best Director .

The motion picture was perfectly produced and stunningly directed by Pablo Berger , a very good Spanish movies director . Director Pablo Berger developed the project for eight years before being able to shoot it. Pablo is a well recognized filmmaker both nationally and internationally, and in proof of it he won many prizes in several Festivals , as his previous picture titled ¨Torremolinos 73¨ , as this ¨Snow White¨ or ¨Blancanieves¨ . Rating : Above average , essential and indispensable watching .

A silent movie, filmed in black & white, which moves the familiar Snow White fairytale to a bullfighter arena in Seville and spices it with some morbid and melodramatic themes. I admit, it sounds weird. But in fact, it's wonderful. Blancanieves is a great cinematographic accomplishment. Anyone who loves film, should go and see it.

Many silent movies are still a joy to watch, even though they are made almost a hundred years ago. That's because they put so much more emphasis on the visual aspect of the movie. It's about what you see on the screen, not about what the actors say.

Director Pablo Berger has understood this perfectly. Blancanieves is a visual feast from beginning to end. The scenes are filmed in high-contrast black & white, often with deep focus. Everything looks extremely stylish, from the wardrobes to the interiors. Sometimes the images could have come right out of a fashion magazine.

Moreover, the actors know that they have to act differently and use much more expression. Maribel Verdu is a joy to watch as Blancanieves's evil stepmother. Her facial expressions are worth more than a hundred lines of dialogue. Watch for the chicken-eating scene!

In silent movies, the soundtrack is of course extremely important. Blancanieves doesn't disappoint. From the no holds barred, full-scale orchestral pieces during the most melodramatic scenes, to traditional Spanish flamenco music, it all accompanies the images on screen perfectly. Sometimes the soundtrack turns into source music, for example when we see the orchestra playing during the bullfight, or when Blancanieves puts on a record.

it's hard to review this film without mentioning 'The Artist', the Oscar-winning silent movie from last year. Inevitably, Blancanieves stands in the shadow of this successful film. That's bad luck for director Berger, who has started this project long before anyone had even heard of The Artist. Perhaps, if The Artist wouldn't have had as much success as it did, Blancanieves would have attracted more attention. The Artist was a multiple Oscar-winner, Blancanieves didn't even get nominated, although it was the Spanish selection for the foreign language category. That does seem out of proportion, because both films are really great. Blancanieves is old-fashioned film making at its very best.

Snow White and the Huntsman and Mirror Mirror were not the only two Snow White-inspired films of last year. Spanish cinema goers were treated to their very own version of the Brothers Grimm fairy tale that was directed by Pablo Berger who could have been inspired by the success of the French-American silent film, The Artist, as his version of the tale is also a silent one.

Shot in glorious black-and-white (as was The Artist), the film looks and feels like an actual film from the silent era. The simple style of Blancanieves hearkens back to the silent era of film and Berger has created a fanciful homage to those wonderful films of several yesteryears ago that have inspired countless filmmakers ever since.

Berger's unique vision of Snow White takes place in southern Spain in the 1920s and features actress Maribel Verdu (Pan's Labyrinth, Y Tu Mama Tambien) as this version's wicked stepmother. Verdu's Encarna loves her husband's fame and fortune (he is a paralyzed bullfighter whom she met in the hospital as his nurse) but loathes him and his daughter, Carmen. As the story goes, the young Carmen/Snow White (Macarena Garcia) flees the evil clutches of her mother and finds herself helped out along the way by a band of little people who travel the countryside and perform as a novelty act. Carmen finds a talent as a novelty, female bullfighter herself ... and her newfound fame attracts the attention and wrath of Encarna. And, well ... we know the story.

Berger has ingeniously and believable captured this tale in this setting ... and it all works. The over-the-top theatrics of the stars (over-emoting for lack of sound) is spot-on and there are no weak-links in this production. The sets and costumes are lavish. The blacks and whites are sumptuous and beautiful. By Berger choosing to incorporate some of the darker elements of a classic Grimm tale, he has made this version the most successful of last year's three Snow White re-tellings.

This is the fairest one of them all.

Although The Artist, the first Best Picture winner I've agreed with in a long time, took the mainstream by storm of its silent film renaissance style, Blancanieves is a similar revivial, if not as self-referential, and is on par with The Artist. Silent cinema in the modern age feels like it offers a brand new way of expressive cinema and Blancanieves is oozing with expression. With textured black and white shots and energetic editing, it's a rush of raw inspiration, making full use of the frame. With such a timeless story, there's a risk of it being a complete retread, but Blancanieves tells it in such a refreshing and unpredictable way in which I was constantly looking for the famous plot points and then pleasantly surprised me when it's revealed which character is playing what role. It's a film with such a warmth for the characters and builds their relationships in a great archetypal way. With its great pace, it hits story beats efficiently and I was never bored and always caught off guard with its reinventions, with the bullfighting angle implemented seamlessly. The highlight is the fantastic score, which also rivals The Artist, with its variety of styles, the best parts being when it has flamenco influences. Blancanieves is a very entertaining and tragic rendition of a great story that avoids sentimentality all the way. Although it winds down a little in the last third where it's run out of steam too much to develop the seven dwarfs fairly, its highs are still strong. One of the best the year has to offer and rivals Disney's own Snow White.

9/10