By: debbie lynn elias
Although BLANCANIEVES didn’t make the short list of potential Oscar nominees for Best Foreign Language Film, it more than makes my list of Top Five Foreign Language Films of the Year and one of my top overall film picks for 2012. Creative in its story structure and blend of multiple Grimm Brothers fairy tales, among them, Snow White, Cinderella and Little Red Riding Hood with touches and nods to other Grimm fables, BLANCANIEVES soars with imaginative and interpretive storytelling. Toss in the Art Deco era of the 20’s, a bullfight crazy Seville, sexuality and “horseplay” built into the story for some tongue-in-cheek humor, and the result is pure fantastical artistry and romanticism.
Antonio Villalta is the most famous matador in all of Spain. Considered invincible, he seems to have it all – money, fame, a beautiful wife who is the love of his life, and soon, a new baby. But all of that quickly comes crashing down when he is gored in the ring, leaving him paralyzed and near death. Heartbroken at watching her husband, Antonio’s wife goes into labor dies in childbirth, leaving Antonio with an infant daughter and Antonio himself suffers life-threatening injuries in the bullring, leaving him paralyzed, despondent and in a wheelchair. Unable and unwilling to care for the young Carmen, Antonio seeks solace in the arms of his one-time nurse, Encarna, a woman who has designs on Antonio’s wealth and place in society. Encarna, ever the evil stepmother, wants nothing to do with Carmen, who is sent to live with her loving grandmother. But as the years pass, age takes its toll on Carmen’s abeulita and on her passing, Carmen – with her only friend in the world her pet rooster Pepe – is sent to live with her father and Encarna.
Relegated by Encarna to live in the basement with the pigs and the rats, Carmen has never seen her father who is hidden away on the second floor of the mansion. As with all children, curiosity takes hold of Carmen and she goes exploring. With the inevitable joyous father-daughter reunion, the two keep their knowledge of the other a secret, lest incur the wrath of Encarna. From his wheelchair, Antonio teaches his daughter of bullfighting, while Carmen warms her father’s heart dancing the flamenco, the same dance her mother once performed.
But Encarna soon finds out about Carmen and Antonio and exacts revenge on both, starting with the death of Antonio and the presumed death of Carmen at the hands of her henchman chauffeur who has his own designs on Encarna and her newly inherited wealth. But as with all good fairy tales and particularly, Snow White, our heroine is saved, this time by six bullfighting dwarves. Falling in love with one of her saviors and captivating the world as Blancanieves, Mistress of the Corrida, will Carmen have the happy ending she always hoped for or will she fall victim to the still vengeful Encarna?
While the performances are all indelible, it is Maribel Verdu who steals the show. As Encarna, she drips delicious evil. Were Angelina Jolie not already filming Maleficent, Verdu would be my choice for the part. She’s that good. And at the same time, she is the perfect Erte model! Similarly, Macarena Garcia as the adult Carmen aka Blancanieves brings a carefree charm and passionate intensity to the role, turning on a dime as she transforms from hopeful girl to bullfighter and daughter of Antonio Villalta! And her eyes! So soulful. Her eyes speak volumes. As the young Carmen, Sofia Oria melts your heart with her smile and ebullient innocence. Angela Molina brings warmth and joy to the story as Carmen’s grandmother, Dona Concha while Daniel Gimenez Cacho tackles the challenges of not only commanding the corrida with methodical deliberateness and flourish, but delivering heartfelt emotion while immobilized from the neck down.
Over ten years in the making, BLANCANIEVES is written and directed by Pablo Berger, who gloriously captures an emotional passion in his actors’ performances which translates into the tonal bandwidth of the film as a whole. Shooting in black & white, Berger and cinematographer Kiki de la Rica capture the imagination from the start. Personally, I have always loved the emotional palette that one can create when using black and white spectral opposites and then focusing in on the levels of grey in between the two to make incredible use of light and shadow and here, de la Rica’s work is exquisite. Each frame is its own masterpiece. Particularly captivating is the romanticized Goya-esque tones and flair that are captured both visually and emotionally.
Celebrating the “over-emoting” styles of silent pictures, the acting embraces this as does the use of stark, stark black and white contrast. Where I would have thought Berger might have softened the focus or used a cheesecloth or dennier effect, he didn’t and instead exaggerated the contrast, stressing the difference between good and evil. Interesting is the use of the extremely caked on blood blood blood red lipsticks and their tonal differences which are very apparent in black and white. Just look at the lips of Encarna compared to those of Blancanieves. Both thickly colored, the slight difference in the red gives Encarna’s lips a blacker look that matches the heavy black of her eye make-up, hair, clothing and personality. Setting apart this silent black & white film is the European flair which is starker, more visual clarity and less nuanced in acting than an early DW Griffith’s in America.
Huge applause to costume designer Paco Delgado who sets the eral tone with Encarna’s vintage Dior and period wardrobe. That alone – and the design of the house – immediately set the period for us which also means kudos to production designer Alain Bainee. No words or additional framing be wasted to set the stage. Thanks to Encarna’s stunning attire we know immediately when and where we are.
A huge “thank you” needs to be given to Dancing With the Stars for showcasing and exposing to a wide audience, the art of ballroom dance with its flair, musicality and lyricism, all of which we see eloquently executed here through not only the Flamenco, but the Paso Doble, and never moreso than in the bullring. Stunning visual eloquence.
Adding its own level of lyricism is the ebb and flow of the music which generates an intensity and energy that is integrated into the story structure and the actual physical movements of the actors. Alfonso de Vilallonga’s score is sumptuous and rich and again, as I have said time and time again with The Artist, Louie and the yet to be released Bolden, silent films are never truly silent. The music alone transports the audience into the fantasy of the world unfolding on screen. One doesn’t need words to tell a story with music as powerful and lovely as this.
A visual spectacle cloaked in a beautiful melancholy, BLANCANIEVES is filmmaking at its finest and a true masterpiece.
Written and Directed by Pablo Berger.
Cast: Macarena Garcia, Maribel Verdu, Sofia Oria, Daniel Gimenez Cacho, Angela Molina
