Director: Pablo Berger
Talent: Maribel Verdú, Daniel Giménez Cacho, Ángela Mollina, Macarena García
Release Date: 19th July 2013
Blancanieves, literally translated as Snow White, rebuilds the much abused fairy tale as a silent era homage set in a romanticised 1920s Spain. The director mercifully presumes our familiarity with the source material, and instead focuses on the expressive features and techniques of the pre-talkies industry and the vacant but nonetheless beautiful glamour of the decade. The strong cast channel the style without straying into camp, with a special mention for the wicked stepmother (Maribel Verdú) whose nefariously crooked smile is eye candy in monochrome. In place of dialogue the soundtrack is vivid, versatile and descriptive: Chopin inspired pianists stoically keep time even as a marching band pick up a tune they heard from a passing flamenco guitarist. Sometimes the music dies down to a few simple finger clicks and claps, but it is always engaging. Comparisons to The Artist will of course abound, but here we feel the medium is only the canvas onto which the director paints his motifs, rather than the idea and finished piece all together.
