Grimm and Darkly Humorous
Terry Gilliam’s New Movie Revitalizes Summer Viewing

If you like sequels, remakes and film versions of lightly regarded television shows, then this summer has been tailor-made for your movie watching enjoyment. The sheer number of non-original movies such as Batman Begins, Star Wars Episode III, Bewitched, Herbie: Fully Loaded, and Dukes of Hazzard is truly staggering this summer and, truth be told, not all of them have been half bad.

“I may be a queen and you may be a peasant, but there’s just something about an Aqua Velva man.” Monica Belucci and Heath Ledger star in The Brothers Grimm.

The summer’s most original feature film, however, has got to be director Terry Gilliam’s The Brothers Grimm. It is a fantastical and fictional look at the early lives of the fairy tale writers who created such memorable characters as Hansel and Gretel, Little Red Riding Hood and Rapunzel. Gilliam is the director who has created such otherworldly films as Brazil, 12 Monkeys, Time Bandits and The Adventures of Baron Von Munchausen, and once again he has created an alternative universe for us to explore for a few hours.

The Brothers Grimm stars Heath Ledger and Matt Damon as Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, two wandering adventurers and conmen who regularly convince villagers that their community is beset with witches and ogres whom they will gladly get rid of…for a fee. Jake’s hobby is collecting the folk tales of the places they visit while Will is more interested in spending time with the local lovely lasses.

When the boys are arrested and threatened with capital punishment, they agree to investigate a small village where young girls are disappearing to see if there are other conmen afoot. What they find is an enchanted forest and a wicked queen who is intent on abducting twelve girls to use in a spell that will give her eternal youth. They also meet a beautiful brave hunter named Angelika (Lena Headey) whose two younger sisters are among the missing girls.

The Brothers Grimm is incredibly original and full of life yet contains Gilliam’s trademark dark and slightly disturbing sense of humor. Children are constantly being thrust into perilous situations (one young girl has her eyes and mouth stolen from her head by a gingerbread man) and the brothers themselves waver from being bumbling to heroic and back again. The casting is dead on as Gilliam gives us a pompous leader of French-occupied Germany (Jonathan Pryce as Delatombe), his sadistic lieutenant Cavaldi (Peter Stormare) and all manner of village crones and elders. The amazing Monica Bellucci is radiant as The Mirror Queen and it is easy to see why her beauty would blind men to her evil ways.

The movie rests, however, on the ability of Damon and Ledger to be believable as brothers who have a love-hate relationship. They fight, bicker and compete for the same love interest, but beneath the harsh words you can tell that they would do anything for each other.

The Brothers Grimm is magical and menacing with enough thrills and laughs for even the most jaded of film fans. It’s probably not for kids of eight or younger, however, as there are plenty of nightmare-inducing images in this wonderful flick.

The Brothers Grimm is rated PG-13 for violence, frightening sequences and brief suggestive material. It is currently playing at the Regal Cinema in Boone.

Lost in La Mancha

If you are wondering what director Terry Gilliam has been up to in the seven years since he directed Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, you would do well to rent the documentary Lost in La Mancha. It details Gilliam’s multi-million dollar attempt to put Cervantes’ story of Don Quixote on film. Everything that could possibly go wrong does and the production appears to be as cursed as the village in The Brothers Grimm. Even the proposed title for the film, The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, takes on new meaning as we watch Gilliam bicker with cast, crew and insurance companies as he tries to keep his pet project afloat.

Lost in La Mancha is a must-see for any aspiring screenwriter, actor or director. It gives the viewer a newfound appreciation for any movie that actually makes it to the silver screen. It is available at area video outlets.