The Brothers Grimm [M]

Once upon a time there lived two brothers named Jacob and Will Grimm, who made their name by vanquishing demons and monsters that they themselves had created. But one day, they are forced to vanquish the real thing. As young girls are stolen from a superstitious European village, the brothers soon find themselves roped into finding the girls and ridding the village of fear caused by an enchanted forest. With no tricks and cheats to control the situation, the brothers are forced to resort to fables and folk tales in order to save the village. 

From mad and eccentric director Terry Gilliam, the genius who brought us Brazil, The Fisher King, and The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, comes this macabre fractured fairytale that is something else entirely. 

Once upon a time there lived two brothers named Jacob and Will Grimm, who made their name by vanquishing demons and monsters that they themselves had created. Actors and frauds by nature, one day the two are forced to confront the real thing. As young girls are being stolen from a superstitious European village, the brothers soon find themselves unwillingly roped into an endeavour to find the girls and rid the village of fear caused by an enchanted forest. With no tricks and cheats to control the situation, the brothers are forced to resort to fables and folk tales in order to save the village. 

This is a good film. This is a very enjoyable film. After watching it three times though, I still have to say that I have no desires to add it to the collection. The one thing that slightly annoys me with this film is that it tends to jump around a lot between memories, dreams, and whatnot, without any real method of differentiating between all these different states of mind. That’s my only major beef with the film. Well, that and the story tends to suddenly and abruptly surge forwards. 

Everything else was great, aside from maybe the special effects, which did seem rather obvious and didn’t blend in with the rest of the film. I rather enjoyed the subtle references to the classic Grimm fairytales, Cinderella, Red Riding Hood, and all of those, and the light comedy script was rather nice as it took some of the focus away from some of the nasty and somewhat macabre things that happen to the children. It was all balanced rather nicely, is what I mean to say. 

Starring Matt Damon, Heath Ledger, Roger Ashton-Griffiths, Mackenzie Crook, Peter Stormare, Lena Heady, and Jonathan Pryce, The Brothers Grimm is an interesting and fun movie that’s filled with action, adventure, fantasy, romance, magic, and a touch of the macabre. It’s a film that’s definitely worth watching at any rate and, in true Gilliam style, there’s a subtle part at the end that keeps you hanging on.