Blancanieves

Utterly weird, utterly mesmerising, and utterly magical! This imaginative take on The Brothers Grimm famous Snow White fairy tale not only is Spain’s answer to The Artist, but one of the most original movies in a long time.

Just like the award-winning The Artist, director Pablo Berger’s award-winning film is made in b/w silent style. Set in 1920’s Spain, the story starts off in traditional territory: the bullfighting arena. Celebrated bullfighter Antonio Villalta (Daniel Giménez Cacho), who won many a fight, loses this one when the bull mercilessly attacks him… leaving him paralyzed. At the same time, his wife gives birth to a baby daughter. The baby survives; the mother dies due to complications during childbirth. Little Carmencita (Sofia Oria) is raised by her loving and caring grandmother Dona Concha (Angela Molina), until one day, she suddenly dies of a heart attack.

A short time later, Antonio marries the beautiful but cruel Encarna (Maribel Verdu), who is only interested in his money and the luxurious lifestyle that comes with it. From the outset, she treats Carmen like a slave child who is forced to sleep in the chicken pen, hence her only friends are chickens… Forward, and the by now almost grown-up Carmen (Macarena Garcia) manages to sneak back into the mansion, where her helpless and estranged father teaches his daughter the art of bullfighting. When Encarna finds out, Carmen is forced to run for her life. Left for dead in the countryside, she is discovered and rescued by a traveling troupe of bullfighting dwarves (like the seven dwarves from Grimm’s fairy tale) who go by the name ‘Los Enanitos Toreros’. As a thank you for letting her travel with them, Carmen cooks, cleans and looks after them. One day, when one of the dwarves fights in the ring and gets seriously wounded, Carmen bravely and unexpectedly steps into the arena and manages to come out winner. This causes a little sensation, and a scheming bullfighting manager is quick to sign up Carmen as a ‘sensational new act’ publicized as Blancanieves (Spanish for white). The illiterate girl signs the paper with a cross, unaware that the contract – like a Faustian pact – not only demands her skills as a bullfighter but her very soul.

When word spreads that Carmen is the new bullfighting sensation, her jealous and alarmed stepmother decides it’s time for sabotage and attends one of the fights… in disguise, she hands Carmen a poisoned apple before the fight… Forward once again, and the dead/eternally sleeping Carmen aka Blancanieves is now part of a traveling freak show, put on display in her glass coffin by her loyal dwarves who are forced to honour the remainder of her contract…

The stark b/w cinematography works particularly well in bringing this occasionally humorous melodrama to full visual effect. Apart from several surreal moments, the film boasts various subtle references from classic cinema. For example, the scenes in which Encarna walks down the stairs in her husband’s mansion – dressed to the nines – is reminiscent of Gloria Swanson in Sunset Boulevard. In a later scene, when she hits an accomplice over the head by the pool and he drowns, we are reminded of the opening scene of Sunset Boulevard. And the surreal tinged freak show scene at the end is pure David Lynch.

This film is a delight to watch beginning to end, and although the performances are strong all round, Blancanieves does belong to Macarena Garcia!

The movie is available as a DVD Collector’s Edition, as well as EST. Bonus material includes ‘Trailer’ and ‘The Making Of featurette’.