Tale of Tales

Tale of Tales, directed by Matteo Garrone and released in 2015, is a fantastical exploration of folklore and mythology set in a mythical medieval landscape. This film, with Salma Hayek, Vincent Cassel, and Toby Jones amongst its prominent cast, is an Italian-British-French co-production and is based on fairy tales by 17th-century Neapolitan writer Giambattista Basile.

The film adaptation presents a visually rich, carnivalesque array of storylines and magical realms, interweaving three separate narratives together. Although distinct in their narrative arcs, they share a common context in exploring themes around power, desire, obsession, and the distorted manifestation of dreams.

Hayek plays the part of a queen in an unnamed kingdom, obsessively desperate to have a child of her own. Her deep-seated longing leads her on a dangerous journey dictated by a mysterious necromancer who promises her the joy of motherhood, but at the expense of a peculiar demand. In this storyline, the film explores a woman's yearning for motherhood and her willingness to cross boundaries for fulfilling this innate desire.

Vincent Cassel inhabits the role of a lascivious king who becomes besotted by the singing voice of a woman he has never met. His obsession leads him down a path of revelation, desire, and unexpected consequences. Through this narrative, the movie explores notions of superficial beauty and the inevitable disillusionment that follows when reality fails to meet ideals.

In the third tale, Toby Jones plays the part of yet another monarch, this king becomes peculiarly infatuated with a gigantic pet flea. This unhealthy attachment results in decisions that greatly affect his daughter's fate. Employing themes of misplaced affections and misguided decisions, the narrative demonstrates the bizarre extents humans may go to satiate their needs, often at the risk of harming ones they love.

What is particularly striking about this film is not just its visually evocative and stunning landscapes but also its narrative style. The three tales are spun parallelly, their connection not immediately evident but drawing the audience into an intriguing labyrinth of fable-like tales, grotesque occurrences, and splendid imagery. While the narratives echo familiar folkloric myths and fables, their rendition in Tale of Tales is much more extravagant and decidedly darker.

Garrone's approach to this material presents a fantastical tableau of characters and incidents – it's the world around these kings and queens that truly brings Tale of Tales to life. Through the film, we encounter magical undertones and vivid portrayals of witches, ogres, sea dragons, and other mystical creatures, straight out of a rich, imaginative folklore.

However, the film isn't confound to pure fantasy. In its exploration of desire, parenthood, beauty, power, and obsession, Tale of Tales manages to strike real and unsettling chords. Each of the characters, played intensely by the film's well-rounded actors, grapples with their respective human obsessions, lending the film a substantial emotional core amidst its fairytale exterior. The stark reality of their emotions and consequences of their indulgence form a contrast to the unabashed fantastical elements, thus forming a striking balance between the two.

The film's cinematography beautifully captures this surreal world, painting each frame with rich, earthy tones that augment the authenticity of its medieval setting. Combined with an absorbing music score, it conjures up a visceral atmosphere of a magical realm that is both fascinatingly peculiar and eerily foreboding.

Before partaking in Tale of Tales, it's important to note that it isn't a family-friendly fantasy film – it's a mature exploration of adult themes, realized through the lens of storytelling tradition that predates the sanitized narratives of contemporary fairytales. It's an illustration of how stories might have been told in the nominally 'civilized' courts of medieval Europe, presenting both the darkness and beauty of human nature in all its gloriously twisted shapes.

This begs the audience to suspend their disbelief and norms of viewing a 'fairytale' and step into a dream-like narrative where the line between reality and fantasy is beautifully blurred. With Hayek, Cassel, and Jones delivering engaging performances, Tale of Tales is a fascinating journey into the eerie underbelly of traditional folklore and a testament to the timeless appeal of storytelling.