Pinocchio. (PG.)
Directed by Matteo Garrone.
Starring Federico Ielapi, Roberto Benigni, Rocco Papaleo, Massino Ceccherini and Marine Vacht. In cinemas. In Italian with subtiles, or dubbed. 125 mins.
Of course, Stanley Johnson, the Great British Public couldn't spell Pinocchio if they tried: it's a foreign proper noun. It Dizney matter that it's famous, as a point of principle, no true patriot has any business knowing that it's one "n" and two "c"s. So universal is its influence that it is easy to forget its origin, but this new live-action version is very, very Italian. Even the dubbed English version is proper pasta-pizza, mamma-mia, tutti-frutti Italian. (Where possible, it is performed by the original cast.)
Director Garrone is a man who always sees the dark side of a fairy tale. In Tale of Tales, he mixed three traditional Italian 17th-century folk tales into a dark and creepy compendium. With this adaptation, it looks like he is trying to become the Angela Carter of cinema. His Pinocchio is dark, a tale mired in poverty and desperation. The sun occasionally breaks through but the colour scheme is overcast throughout. He loves big artificial sets and costumes in the style of Fellini, but there's a Ken Loach Jimminy Cricket perched on his shoulder forbidding it to become too much fun, or forgo its social responsibilities.
Which means that this is a really beautiful and meticulous piece of filmmaking that may be of little use to anyone. Tale of Tales was designed as an adult fairy tale; this is aimed at children but although it is frequently magical, it's rarely much fun.
It may also be that the story doesn't help a great deal. When Disney made the animation in the 1940s, Walt decree that they soften the title character to make him more likeable. This is a more faithful adaptation and here the wooden boy is an obnoxious brat. Poor Geppetto (Benigni) is so thrilled to have this child but it gives him nothing but misery. And, I know he was almost literally born yesterday, but he is so wilfully stupid initially it's hard to sympathise. I'd never actually seen a version of Pinocchio before (unless A.I. counts?) and I was a bit let down. The story seems bitty and random. When all those indelible moments – the nose growing when he lies, the blue fairy, kids becoming donkeys – that I knew but had never seen arrive they don't really add up to much.
Still, after months of reviewing tinny little respectable small scale dramas, this at least felt like an actual film and I'm pathetically grateful for that. Plus it was lovely to see Benigni again. This must be a great cathartic, facing-down-your-demons moment for him. After his Life Is Beautiful Oscar he made a version of Pinocchio with himself in the title role and it bombed so badly it effectively wrecked his international career. Other than having a middle-aged man play Pinocchio, its chief problem was a badly dubbed version released in the states. For this, I went with the subtitled version, but having dipped into the English dubbed one it looked like it is well done, and you won't miss out on much if you choose to see that version.
Directed by Matteo Garrone.
Starring Federico Ielapi, Roberto Benigni, Rocco Papaleo, Massino Ceccherini and Marine Vacht. In cinemas. In Italian with subtiles, or dubbed. 125 mins.
Of course, Stanley Johnson, the Great British Public couldn't spell Pinocchio if they tried: it's a foreign proper noun. It Dizney matter that it's famous, as a point of principle, no true patriot has any business knowing that it's one "n" and two "c"s. So universal is its influence that it is easy to forget its origin, but this new live-action version is very, very Italian. Even the dubbed English version is proper pasta-pizza, mamma-mia, tutti-frutti Italian. (Where possible, it is performed by the original cast.)
Director Garrone is a man who always sees the dark side of a fairy tale. In Tale of Tales, he mixed three traditional Italian 17th-century folk tales into a dark and creepy compendium. With this adaptation, it looks like he is trying to become the Angela Carter of cinema. His Pinocchio is dark, a tale mired in poverty and desperation. The sun occasionally breaks through but the colour scheme is overcast throughout. He loves big artificial sets and costumes in the style of Fellini, but there's a Ken Loach Jimminy Cricket perched on his shoulder forbidding it to become too much fun, or forgo its social responsibilities.
Which means that this is a really beautiful and meticulous piece of filmmaking that may be of little use to anyone. Tale of Tales was designed as an adult fairy tale; this is aimed at children but although it is frequently magical, it's rarely much fun.
It may also be that the story doesn't help a great deal. When Disney made the animation in the 1940s, Walt decree that they soften the title character to make him more likeable. This is a more faithful adaptation and here the wooden boy is an obnoxious brat. Poor Geppetto (Benigni) is so thrilled to have this child but it gives him nothing but misery. And, I know he was almost literally born yesterday, but he is so wilfully stupid initially it's hard to sympathise. I'd never actually seen a version of Pinocchio before (unless A.I. counts?) and I was a bit let down. The story seems bitty and random. When all those indelible moments – the nose growing when he lies, the blue fairy, kids becoming donkeys – that I knew but had never seen arrive they don't really add up to much.
Still, after months of reviewing tinny little respectable small scale dramas, this at least felt like an actual film and I'm pathetically grateful for that. Plus it was lovely to see Benigni again. This must be a great cathartic, facing-down-your-demons moment for him. After his Life Is Beautiful Oscar he made a version of Pinocchio with himself in the title role and it bombed so badly it effectively wrecked his international career. Other than having a middle-aged man play Pinocchio, its chief problem was a badly dubbed version released in the states. For this, I went with the subtitled version, but having dipped into the English dubbed one it looked like it is well done, and you won't miss out on much if you choose to see that version.
