A beautiful fairy tale in a dark edition – review of the film “Pinocchio”

Recently, there is a fashion for live action reboots of well-known and popular fairy tales, in which Disney studio is undoubtedly the leader. Most of them are high-budget projects for the masses, focused on action and colorful special effects. The exception is Pinocchio – an independent Italian production directed by Matteo Garrone (creator of, among others, the fairy-tale Pentameron ). The latest adaptation of the story about a wooden boy, however, differs significantly from the original, offering us a solid portion of darkness.

Magic and dangers

The adventures of Pinocchio are probably known to everyone who watched the famous fairy tale or read a novel by Carl Collodi. The film begins with the profile of Gepett – an elderly, lonely man living in extreme poverty. The old man is looking for a job wherever he can, unfortunately to no avail. When a traveling puppet theater arrives in town, Gepetto comes up with the idea of ​​making his own puppet so that he can earn some money with it. To the man’s surprise, the wooden boy he created comes to life and almost immediately steals the heart of his creator.

Unfortunately, Pinocchio is not as obedient as his father would like – instead of attending school, the boy sneaks into the puppets ‘tent, where he admires the puppets’ performance. However, the situation takes an unexpected turn and Pinocchio is kidnapped, leading to a series of dangerous events. From now on, the boy is on his own and the magical creatures he encounters on his adventurous journey.

Secrets of an enchanted world

Pinocchio is a real gem when it comes to the visual aspect. Numerous special effects are at the highest level, delighting with rich colors and carefully refined details. Both the boy made of wood and the characters he encounters look almost alive, which is by far the greatest asset of the film. The photos of beautiful Italian towns and enchanted lands created by Nicolaj Brüel are just as good as they are breathtaking. All this is complemented by calm, dreamlike music, immersing us deeply into the world of fairy tales. These elements show clearly that this is a project created with heart and passion.

However, the creators went a step further and decided to give us a different, extraordinary version of the popular story. From the very beginning, the production gives us a heavy, dark atmosphere reminiscent of gothic horror movies rather than children’s stories. Both the magical places and the characters themselves often look gloomy, not to say – menacing. The Cat and the Fox in particular attract attention, trying to mislead Pinocchio into the wrong path. The combination of humanoid shapes with animal features gives them a truly terrifying appearance that can cause anxiety even in the older part of the audience. The history itself can also, from time to time, bristle on the head with references to death, physical violence, or disease. Parents taking their children to the screening must therefore remember that this is not a light cinema.

Also, do not forget that Pinocchio is also the spectacular return of Roberto Benigni, incidentally, director and screenwriter adaptation from 2002, in which he played the creator of Pinocchio. Benigni hangs up the wooden boy’s beanie and turns into Gepett as a more mature actor, which is perfect for him. The older man in the movie is weak and sick, but still has an unheard of energy in him that pushes him forward.

Unfortunately, despite numerous advantages, the Italian production can tire with unnecessarily elongated scenes and the slow course of events. Although a somewhat sleepy atmosphere is a characteristic element of Pinocchio, it slows down the most interesting elements of the film to his detriment. The way of presenting successive events makes it difficult for the viewer to focus on them, and his attention is often put to sleep. In turn, the final scene in which Pinocchio becomes a boy comes suddenly and without any warning, after which the movie ends quickly as if it was suddenly interrupted. It only causes irritation and a feeling of dissatisfaction with which we unfortunately have to leave the cinema hall.

Beautiful form with poor content

Pinocchio is one of those films that focus more on the visual aspect than the plot. Unfortunately, the creators did not do well to present the story, although it does not immediately mean that the production is bad. On the contrary – if you are prepared to slowly develop the action and you like fairy-tale atmosphere, you can really have fun during the screening. However, it must be remembered that Pinocchio is closer to a beautiful work of art than to a classic film story.

We invite you to the movie Pinocchio to the Cinema City cinema network all over the country!