Tale of Tales slipped past my radar in 2015. It’s a strange movie directed by Matteo Garrone (who has plenty of talent!). The movie is based on three macabre fairy tales by 17th Century folklorist, Giambattista Basile. The stories intertwine and reinforce each other. In the first story, the King (John C. Reilly) attempts to satisfy the Queen’s (Salma Hayek) obsession to conceive a child by slaying a sea monster. In the second story, another King (Toby Jones) is obsessed by an insect which leads him to marry his daughter off to an ogre. In a third kingdom, the sexually obsessed King (Vincent Cassel) falls for an unseen woman when he hears her singing. Their midnight rendezvous leads to a Big Surprise for both of them.
If you’re in the mood for some “fractured fairy tales” Tale of Tales will startle you. Visually impressive! GRADE: B+
Saw this a few months ago. Enjoyed it but thought Reilly miscast.
Steve, John C. Reilly wasn’t on-screen very long. I’m guessing he was cast to get a “Big Name” in the movie.
I’ll check it out — thanks!
Dan, TALE OF TALES is a very different movie.
Never heard of it. I’m always willing to give Salma Hayek a chance.
Jeff, I somehow missed TALE OF TALES the first time around. I’m with you on Salma Hayek.
I never heard of this one. Will look for it.
Patti, be prepared for something different when you watch TALE OF TALES.
I saw it, thought the toby jones one was beyond weird. Visually it was stunning, but the stories were a bit too much for me. IIRC, I didn’t get the one with Salma Hayak, seemed like it didn’t have an ending, but it’s been a while since I saw it. The Cassel was probably the one I liked best,
Maggie, all three stories involve obsessions of the characters. I’m going to track down the original stories.