Tale of Tales

2016 • 133 minutes
3.7
315 reviews
83%
Tomatometer
Eligible
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About this movie

Sea monsters, monarchs, ogres, and sorcerers: Salma Hayek and John C. Reilly star in this breathtaking Baroque fantasy from the visionary director of Gomorrah. Based on three spellbinding stories of magic and the macabre by 17th-century folklorist Giambattista Basile, Tale of Tales unleashes a barrage of mind-bogglingly gorgeous and fantastical imagery as it brings to life the (mis)adventures of three kings: in the kingdom of Darkwood, the King (Reilly) and his Queen (Hayek) attempt to conceive a child through very unusual means; meanwhile, in Highhills, the none-too-bright monarch (Toby Jones) marries off his daughter to brutal ogre while developing a strange obsession with breeding a giant flea; and, the sex-obsessed crown of Strongcliff (Vincent Cassel) is in for a shock when the woman he falls in love with is not quite what she seems. Overflowing with surreal, dazzling surprises, this intoxicating cinematic spectacle is a delirious excursion into the dark heart of fairy tales.

Ratings and reviews

3.7
315 reviews
Darius Reidace
May 8, 2016
The movie itself is gorgeous, and very visually appealing as far as set and costume design goes. The world is beautiful and mysterious in and of itself. But the transitions between the 3 stories was choppy and the dialogue is a little slow and a little coarse. I do like how it harkens back to the same sort of feel that Grimm fairytales have, no touch of Disney anywhere to be found (and unfortunately, no satisfaction found in the ending itself either) but overall, not a waste of time, and interesting enough.
3 people found this review helpful
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Carrie McCain
July 6, 2016
I love fairy tales. Especially dark fairy tales. But this movie, while absolutely GORGEOUS, bored the hell out of me. I don't know what it is about it, but I didn't get wrapped up in the story at all, and nothing really made me feel for any of the characters. Especially Dora. Why the hell would you marry someone who threw you out of a window? I feel like I just wasted two hours of my life. I'm easily entertained, and I was still bored out of my skull.
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Cyrene Quiamco
April 30, 2016
The movie was visually beautiful. BUT the storytelling is slow and barely had any dialogues, it was almost a silent movie at times. Scenes are so drawn out and you find yourself yelling inside, "come on, get to the point!" And everyone moves so slow! I wanted to just jump and make sudden movements after watching the movie because the slowness drove me crazy!
8 people found this review helpful
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