By Ben Bussey
As a site primarily focused on horror, BAH has of course noted the resurgence of the anthology format in the genre this past half-decade or so. While it would be a pretty big stretch to declare Matteo Garrone’s Tale of Tales symptomatic of this new wave of portmanteau horror, in its own distinct way the film does fit comfortably within the subgenre, given it strings together a number of loosely connected stories, distinctly nightmarish in nature, which take place within a shared story world. Perhaps most significantly, the film tackles material which we might easily regard as perhaps the true birthplace of horror: the fairy tale.
Clive Barker, Guillermo del Toro and many other such erudite, eloquent gorehounds have argued (correctly, to my mind) that when you boil it down far enough, there really is no division between fantasy and horror. Del Toro has explored that territory in his films, Pan’s Labyrinth being a particularly potent example of this; and other films like Neil Jordan’s classic The Company of Wolves had delved into the terrain before. Tale of Tales inevitably invites comparison to both those films, but it’s something else entirely. Rather than taking an abstract approach to fairy tales, contrasting them with contemporary reality as del Toro and Jordan’s films did, Garrone (whose earlier work I must confess to being unfamiliar with) has embraced the format directly, in all its simplicity, beauty, and hideousness. The result is a truly haunting, fascinating and compelling piece of work.
The film adapts three tales (although it feels more like four) from the tales of Italian writer Giambattista Basile, apparently a forebear to the likes of the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen. The first key story casts Salma Hayek and John C Reilly as a King and Queen who are distraught over their inability to conceive a child, and in their desperation take the advice of a mysterious wise man who warns them that sacrifice will be necessary – and that the Queen must eat the heart of a sea monster. Sure enough, she soon bears a child, but of course there are some unforeseen complications of which I’ll say no more.
Meanwhile, Toby Jones is the monarch of a neighbouring kingdom, who is tasked with finding a suitable husband for his daughter (Stacy Martin), but is greatly distracted by his bond with a rather unusual pet – and when a suitor for his child is selected by means of a contest, the girl does not find the dashing romantic hero she had hoped for. Finally, our third tale casts Vincent Cassell as a lusty playboy king whose life of orgies and indulgence has left him jaded, and finds himself bewitched (figuratively speaking – an important distinction under the circumstances) by the singing voice of a peasant woman whose face he has never seen. He sets about wooing her in a somewhat forceful manner; being the king, he’s used to getting what he wants. But again, this female stranger is not quite what he imagines her to be.
Of course, fairy tales are always easy to surmise in terms of plot, but it’s often a bit trickier to discern quite what, if anything, they’re really trying to say. Sometimes the symbolism isn’t that hard to decipher, other times it all just feels utterly surreal. Fittingly, Tale of Tales toes this line, relaying the stories in as simple a manner as an early Disney movie – but, crucially, without ever diluting the darkness at their heart. As is surely self-evident from the 15 certificate, the comparisons to The Company of Wolves and Pan’s Labyrinth, and – oh yes – the picture above of Salma Hayek eating a heart, this most definitely isn’t a kid’s movie. The small-screen success of Game of Thrones has surely played a role in making adult audiences more open to the notion of fantastic material dealing with mature subject matter, although happily Tale of Tales doesn’t go quite so apeshit with the gore, profanity and nudity, although there are some eye-opening moments of the former and the latter, including an absolutely hilarious introductory scene for Cassell’s debauched monarch.
Anyone hoping for reassuring, non-challenging viewing which provides easy answers will not get what they’re looking for here. What you will find is a veritable feast for the senses, which thankfully doesn’t leave the intellect feeling undernourished. Above and beyond all else, Tale of Tales is the most visually striking film you’re likely to see all year, with a classic, painterly eye applied to more or less every single shot, and it leaves me hugely regretful to only be experiencing it for the first time on the small screen; no doubt it’s a hugely immersive experience at the cinema. It also boasts a wonderfully atmospheric soundtrack, and tremendous performances from the whole ensemble.
Definitely one we can expect to see on a lot of best of 2016 lists in about five months time, Tale of Tales is one of the few movies of the year so far which I can comfortably declare an unequivocal must see.
Tale of Tales is out on Region 2 DVD and Blu-ray on 8th August, from Curzon Artificial Eye.