The beginning of 2020 brought us the premiere of a new film by Oz Perkins, which some may remember as the director of the horror film Evil Within Me . This time, the artist took an old, well-known fairy tale about Hansel and Gretel and told it in his own way - dark and disturbing, more similar to the atmosphere of the original work of the Grimm brothers. And it was a bull's eye!
When I went to the screening, I had basically no expectations. This particular fairy tale has been reinterpreted many times for cinema purposes, with very different results. Similarly, for several years the creators of horror films have been very eagerly flirting with fairy tales and folk, giving us such titles as, for example, the Witch: Fairy Tale of New England or Midsommar . This subject matter, in fact, suits me, but the more such works, the more I fear the redundancy and influx of films “about nothing”, produced on the wave of new fashion. Fortunately, in this case, after the first minutes, I realized that Małgosia and Hansel will have nothing to do with mediocrity.
Source: nytimes.com
An old tale, a new perspective
As we can expect, the backbone of the plot is already known to us. We will come to see how brother and sister – with appropriate names – are driven out of the house to relieve the family in times of overwhelming crop failure, as a result of which they wander through a large, unfriendly forest to end up in the witch-cannibal’s hut cut off from the world. In terms of the overall direction of the story, there are no major surprises.
Nevertheless, there is room for some changes here, keeping the whole thing fresh. First of all, in Perkins’ vision, unlike in the original, the lead in the pair of siblings is Małgosia, who in addition is a few years older than Jaś and at times clearly mothers him. A hint of this state of affairs can be found in the title itself. It is also not an empty procedure aimed solely at distinguishing this reinterpretation from the group of others – the girl is obviously the main character here, and the film, which is quite intimate in nature, focuses primarily on the nature and development of her relationship with her brother and the witch.
Source: imdb.com
The moral of it is so …
The spirit of the narrative also remains fairy-tale like, in the sense that it is quite simple, and at the same time full of issues and events that are meant to instruct or warn both the characters and the viewer. For example, we will hear the sentence that I used in the headline many times, which is a slightly nicer view that “there is nothing for free in life”. Some may find it a bit boring, but I was definitely pleased with this kind of bow towards the original form.
With all this, it is also a story about growing up, finding your own way in a not-so-friendly world and learning to be responsible, especially for the relationships we develop with others. Over the course of 87 minutes of the film, Małgosia will be entangled in several difficult relationships and will have to define her approach to them in order to get out of this difficult situation in one way or another. First of all, it is about the guardian-ward relationship between her and John and the complex relationship between the girl and the witch, which is a mixture of the dynamics of the prisoner and the torturer, as well as the student and mentor. Most of the story is a kind of psychological game played by these three characters. Of course, this does not give the whole thing a crazy momentum, but the aura of anxiety, mystery and omnipresent distrust is so dense that you really can’t get bored. The story does not avoid touching other difficult topics without obligation, such as the desire for revenge, the desire for independence, and a sense of alienation. There are also several dialogues between the female protagonists relating to finding oneself in the world strictly from the female perspective. However, this is not a poorly disguised moralizing aimed at the contemporary viewer, but rather another aspect that builds the depth of the bond between Małgosia and the witch, and another procedure that builds color appropriate for the era through references to witch hunts and the fear of “knowing women”. There are also several dialogues between the female protagonists relating to finding oneself in the world strictly from the female perspective. However, this is not a poorly disguised moralizing aimed at the contemporary viewer, but rather another aspect that builds the depth of the bond between Małgosia and the witch, and another procedure that builds color appropriate for the era through references to witch hunts and the fear of “knowing women”. There are also several dialogues between the female protagonists relating to finding oneself in the world strictly from the female perspective. However, this is not a poorly disguised moralizing aimed at the contemporary viewer, but rather another aspect that builds the depth of the bond between Małgosia and the witch, and another procedure that builds color appropriate for the era through references to witch hunts and the fear of “knowing women”.
Source: t13.cl
There is something to look at!
From the technical side, Małgosia and Jaś looks simply amazing. The cast are well chosen and really give it their all. The creation of a mysterious forest witch by Alice Krige is completely flawless, and the character fills him with uncertainty and fear even when he calmly drinks his tea and smiles gently. After just one evening with her, I would probably be fit for therapy. Sophia Lillis, or Małgosia, is also doing great. Although she plays conservatively most of the time, it suits her character well, which makes her feel very credible, allowing the viewer to quickly become sympathetic and understanding. Samuel Leakey, who makes his debut on the big screen, also plays really decently, which should be appreciated in the case of an inexperienced child actor.
Visually, it is pure poetry. The shots are rather static, but each frame is highly refined, and the creators repeatedly play with the composition, light, play of colors … The film is watched with genuine pleasure, having the feeling that it could be paused at any time, and the freeze frame obtained would be calmly broadcast to be framed and hung on the wall. It is also impossible to overestimate the beautiful forests of Canada and Ireland, to which we owe the wonderful scenery of the watched history – in Małgosia and Jasiuwe will see them both as picturesque and extremely charming in daytime shots, and as ghastly and enigmatic in night scenes. The impenetrable forest contrasts well with the stuffy, overwhelming views inside the witch’s hut. As for the hut itself, I was not necessarily convinced by its exterior design, which in my opinion is a bit too “bold” and off-putting at first glance, but it is just a drop of bitterness in the sea of sweetness. In addition, Perkins’ work includes a few macabre and distasteful shots, but they are used wisely and moderately – the creators are not afraid of them, but also do not dazzle with them with unhealthy fascination.
The music with sound effects is also at a high level. It may not be the kind of soundtrack that we will hum after leaving the cinema, but while watching it works flawlessly, effectively emphasizing what we see on the screen and intensifying our experience.
We would like to thank the Cinema City network for the opportunity to watch the film Małgosia and Hansel .
