Story Saturday: Tale of Tales (Film Review)

And THIS is how you do a fairy tale adaptation.
Or three.

Tale of Tales (Il racconto dei racconti) is an Italian-French-British film based on stories from Giambattista Basile's 1634 fairy tale collection, the Pentamerone. It is categorized as "fantasy-horror" - which is pretty much the same as saying "fairy tale adaptation."
The movie re-tells and intertwines three stories from the collection:
The Flea (one of my favorites)
The Enchanted Doe (a version of "the golden-haired twins")
The Old Woman Discovered (which was new for me although I do know the story type)

I have a personal connection to the Pentamerone: When I first started working as a storyteller, these fairy tales were a huge part of my repertoire (since I performed with a Renaissance group). Ever since I first saw the trailer, I have been waiting with excitement to see the film:

I was not disappointed.

First off, in good European film fashion, this movie pulls no punches. There is no fake prudishness, no sugarcoating, and while everything you see on seen is gorgeous, nothing is ever "pretty" or neat. The film has the surreal, unreal, startling beauty of fairy tales; it visually represents the elaborate, flowery language of Basile's stories, while revealing the darkness that operates their plot.

And there is definitely darkness. I knew all three stories before I saw the movie; I knew what was supposed to happen, but I kept wondering if they would actually go there. 

They did, and then some.

(Mild spoiler-ish things ahead)

I was surprised at how strong the emotional reactions were that this film got out of me at every turn. I was literally biting my nails (or rather, my fist). They took the fairy tale stories, and added the raw emotions to every character - what would a princess feel when she is given away to a stranger as a wife? What would a queen behave like when she gets a child after years of longing? What would a woman feel when her sister leaves her behind? The emotional roller-coaster takes us through all that and more, from horrible fight to tearful relief to bitter pity. The whole thing is wonderfully constructed, exciting - and emotionally exhausting in a good way.

The acting is stellar. Bebe Cave, in the role of The Flea's Princess Violet, deserves an array of awards for her work. She had moments that I had to replay multiple times. Shirley Henderson (whom I didn't even recognize until I looked at the credits) brings a heartbreaking performance. Salma Hayek is a perfect queen, and Toby Jones is everything a slightly crazy fairy tale king needs to be.

Even more important than this: The creators understood fairy tales. They knew that they have not endured for hundreds of years because of the dresses, sunshine, and cuteness (*cough*LiveActionCinderella*cough*). They were not afraid to go into the emotions behind the symbols, while still keeping the magic intact. And as they did, they managed to open up new ways of understanding these stories - they turned envy to longing, desire to greed, desperation to power (you'll get it when you see it). The movie is an exercise in doing the "what if" kind of fairy-tale re-tellings with grace, empathy, and subtlety. 

This movie is probably the best fairy tale adaptation I have seen in a very long time.

5 Arthurian things I would rather see on screen than a "streetwise" Arthur

Images from Guy Ritchie's six-movie (!!!) epic of King Arthur surfaced this week, and threw me into a complete storyteller meltdown. Here is the blurb:

"The bold new story introduces a streetwise young Arthur who runs the back alleys of Londonium with his gang, unaware of the life he was born for until he grasps hold of the sword Excalibur—and with it, his future. Instantly challenged by the power of Excalibur, Arthur is forced to make some hard choices. Throwing in with the Resistance and a mysterious young woman named Guinevere, he must learn to master the sword, face down his demons and unite the people to defeat the tyrant Vortigern, who stole his crown and murdered his parents, and become King."

Just... why?!

In order to deal with the pile of horrible ideas this film is shaping up to be (David Beckham? Really?! What, are the Spice Girls going to be the Ladies of the Lake?), I made a list of Arthurian things I would rather see on the big screen.
Because, you know, there are actual stories in there. Good ones.

Gorlagon
A werewolf knight in King Arthur's court. How is this not a movie yet?

Gwendydd
Merlin had a sister. They have a story. Just sayin'.

Taliesin
In some Welsh legends, the bard is tied to King Arthur's court. His is quite the epic story to tell, from stealing the world's knowledge from a witch, through a magical chase to rebirth, being found in a river and raised, and then using bardic magic to save his father from prison... Come on.

Dame Ragnell
"The thing all women in the world desire the most is to be able to decide their own destiny." A great tale to tell, and would make a kickass movie too. Bonus points for feminism.

Culhwch and Olwen
A Welsh classic, and also a great story. Shows a very early form of King Arthur's "gang" (God I hate that word in the blurb). It is also a version of tale type 513, Extraordinary Helpers, which means it features a team of heroes solving a series of tasks together. Love, adventure, giant-killing, the works. Roundtable Assemble, or something.

Go ahead, take a pick, any pick.
Or maybe ask a freaking storyteller.

Folklore Thursday: 7 folktales I would rather watch than a live-action Prince Charming

Honestly, really?! The newest installment in Disney's "live action remake" craze is a movie about Prince Charming. Because what Hollywood needs in yet another live action movie featuring a dashing white dude.
(Unless they make a movie about a Prince Charming who is a person of color... which would be a surprising step from Disney)
What I don't understand is why Disney insists on recycling old material instead of continuing the trend of Tangled and Frozen and making new films from fairy tales that have survived been overlooked by them so far. There are so many that would be awesome on the screen.
In honor of Folklore Thursday, here is my wish list:

1. Twelve Dancing Princesses
Pretty please with cherry on top. Look, it already has the dancing and singing built in.

2. Jack and the Flying Ship
I know it would essentially turn into the Avengers on screen, but honestly, I would watch a folktale-Disney version of people with superhuman powers. Go figure. Bonus points if they do the Greek version with earthquake powers and a "plump princess" (this is one of the versions I included in my book).

3. The Frog Princess
The whole "animal bride" thing would be intriguing to watch... Plus the female protagonist and the mandatory witty Disney animal could be one and the same in this case. Doesn't necessarily need a frog - my favorite version is the Finnish story with the Mouse Princess who manages to be seductive even in her rodent form.

4. The Winged Wolf
Not just because it's a Hungarian folktale, but also because how awesome a winged wolf would be!

5. Bluebeard
Because it would be dark, and disturbing, and that fairy tale needs to be known by more people overseas. Bonus points if they do J. J. Reneaux's Cajun version, Marie Jolie.
(And maybe get Cajun culture right this time, *cough*Princessandthefrog*cough*)

6. The sea-hare
A princess that can see everything, and a hero that needs to hide from her. What an adventure and what a love story that would make... cool Hungarian version also available in my book, dear Disney, just sayin'.

7. The Daughter of the Sun
Italian folktale with a magical sassy female protagonist, some minor gore, and a whole lot of stunning visuals. Courtesy of Italo Calvino.

Come on, Disney. You can do better than Prince Charming. Don't sell yourself short.

Storyteller's Review: Fairest by Marissa Meyer, and the nature of fairy tale images

Confession up front: I am a great fan of the Lunar Chronicles. Fandom, in general, does not need to be justified. However, as a scholar of popular culture and storytelling, I felt like writing about the latest installment in the series: Fairest.

Fairest is actually a prequel, but I wouldn't recommend reading it before the other volumes - it really lives within the context of the series, and you might not get all the information and hidden hints if you go into it blind. With that said, it is an absolutely gorgeous, fascinating piece and a full story on its own.
More importantly, it is a teachable example of how to handle fairy tales well.

Marissa Meyer goes above and beyond most fairy tale adaptations the market is flooded with. She doesn't only take a plot and some iconic images to go with it - a girl in a red hoodie jogging in a park, for example (*cough*Grimm*cough*) - but demonstrates a deeper, more subtle, and more graceful understanding on what stories are, and how they work. She conjures imagery that is both iconic to the sci-fi world she created, and at the same time evokes much older, almost indescribable dream-like memories we are all very familiar with from childhood. Sour apple candies. A pregnant seamstress with an embroidery frame in her hand. Blood on white sheets. Elaborate dresses for a ball.

The Lunar Chronicles series is an endless stream of Easter eggs for storytellers and story-lovers, without ever becoming too obvious or on-the-nose the way many adaptations are ("Get it? Get it? GET IT YET?! *cough*OnceUponATime*cough*), and even if you don't get any of them, it is still a great story on its own. It works with motifs, symbols and tropes, not entire pre-made folktale types. It plays with expectations, imagery, and plot in a way that walks the tightrope between familiar and intriguing expertly and with elegance.

Another thing I like about Meyer's writing: She, unlike many other YA authors, is not obsessed with the physical descriptions of her characters. No one is "gorgeous" and "chiseled" and we don't have to read doting repeat descriptions of the protagonists "golden eyes" (*cough*MortalInstruments*cough) - unless they are directly relevant to the story itself. She doesn't fawn over the looks of her characters - much like with the fairy tale elements, she gives you subtle hints, and allows you to dream up the rest. She works with more complex and open ideas of what beauty is, and presents a wide range of diverse looks in terms of hair, eyes, and skin coloring - and my favorite part: Her "Snow White" is not white at all.

Five stars out of five, and go read the entire series!