Tale of Tales
Directed by Matteo Garrone
Inspired by the celebrated fairytales by Giambattista Basile, Matteo Garrone’s TALE OF TALES is an epic vision of cinema. From the bitter quest of the Queen of Longtrellis (Salma Hayek) who forfeits the life of her husband (John C. Reilly), to two mysterious sisters who provoke the passion of the King of Strongcliff (Vincent Cassel), to the King of Highhills obsessed with a giant Flea (Toby Jones) leading to heartbreak for his young daughter, these stories weave the beautiful with the grotesque, creating a stunning and unique work of gothic imagination.
The film interweaves three separate story strands bookended by brief bits in which involves a street circus family, a jealous queen who forfeits her husband's life, and a king whose passion is stoked by two mysterious sisters.
Cast: Salma Hayek, Vincent Cassel, Toby Jones, John C. Reilly, Shirley Henderson
Member Reviews
Um, this movie had like no ending lol wtf.
so what happened to the sister that goy her skin cut off?
Super fun, super ambitious, felt like a cozy watch to me but. . . a dumbass ending.
While this isn’t my normal cup of tea, the fairy tales are very well adapted and I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. The reviewer who said 2/3 of the tales feel "incomplete" is clearly unfamiliar with the Basile stories which the two they criticized are quite faithful adaptations of ("The Flayed Old Lady" and "The Enchanted Doe"). Rather, the least 'complete' adaptation is "The Flea," which this film cuts the 'happy ending' from.
This was outstanding! It took me back to the high fantasy of my youth when films used to be gorgeous and creative.