Monday, July 24, 2006

The Brothers Grimm

Today I'm taking The Little Madam to see the GP - a couple of days earlier than we're supposed to, but her rattle-y breathing is a bit worrying. Anyway, just as a wee distraction from all the doom and gloom of my blog lately, I want to tell you about a movie we saw over the weekend, The Brothers Grimm.

If you're at all interested in the origins of fairy tales, as I am, then you should watch this movie. I have no idea about the accuracy presented, but there are some fascinating references to the tales of Rapunzel, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and others. Despite the fact that one of the brothers is played by Matt Damon - not badly, it's just a bit distracting when you realise who the actor is - and the silly comedic beginning, this film becomes quite engrossing.

It's very reminiscent of Sleepy Hollow, actually.

Like most fairy tales (at least the non-Disney versions), there are beautiful maidens in peril, dark magics, truly scary evil people and lovelorn heroes. Get past the first half hour or so and ignore the strange Italian guy, and you'll have an enjoyable film.

7 comments:

LK said...

Thanks for that review. It would seem that everytime I want to see a movie, I should just come here first as we have very similar tastes and you've just seen it. Hope Baby is better today. And yes, Matt Damon is a chore to watch, I definitely agree.

Amanda said...

I have never regretted taking my daughter to the dr even though one time her temperature actually returned to normal as we sat in the waiting room and she was perfectly cheerful by the time we got to see someone. I do however regret the one time I delayed when it turned out she had a chest infection. Better safe than sorry.

I really enjoyed the Brothers Grimm which we watched a couple of weeks ago. I must confess I quite like Matt Damon and love Terry Gilliam. My impression from the commentary was that the story had nothing to do with history or real life.

Amanda said...

Oops - I meant to say to do with actual history as in of fairy tales etc and certainly the depiction of the brothers Grimm was completely fictionalised.

Jon said...

I'm sure TLM just has allergies or something minor, but is good that you taking her to a doctor and not ignoring it.

About the film, it just looked terrible to me when I saw the commercials for it. But Sleepy Hollow was quite good- i actually grew up in the exact area where the story takes place, very close to a Dutch manor house and The Old Dutch Church. I didn't get the reference to 'the West Woods', any more west and you'd be in the Hudson River. Oh well, creative liberties, I suppose....

glomgold said...

Ha, the whole process I went through to eventually see this movie was a story in itself. But as far as the film goes, I don't know if it's because of the theme or because I love Gilliam's stuff, but my expectations were so high that they couldn't be met. Same goes for Sleepy Hollow actually, though I did enjoy both of the movies.
Jon, I guess the "West Woods" are those railroad tracks and housing project over in Tarrytown or something.

Anonymous said...

Finally a movie you have watched that I have seen. I liked the movie..
Hope TLM is better soon. Being sick sucks..

Violet said...

nyx: hey, next time we are in the same city we should do a movie!

mtnw: So they totally made up all those fairy tale variations for the movie? A bit of a shame really 'cos it was really interesting. Still fun tho.

jon: I wasn't so keen on The Brothers Grimm either, when I saw the ads for it. But I was glad I saw it in the end. So how similar was the place where you lived, to Sleepy Hollow?

glomgold: my expectations were low, so I guess I won ;-)

happy and blue2: it's horrible when she cries and we don't know why, and she can't tell us.

beth: We have lots in common eh?

eb: Poor thing hasn't put on any weight since her 9 month weigh-in at Plunket. I wonder whether it's because she's been sick so frequently.