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
Tamar Tafoya
May 7, 2016
And then we delve into twin sea monster albino babies born to 2 different mothers, abruptly transition into slutty king and then the miniature flea loving monarch. Scenes bounce between these three worlds without pretext, sense, or reason at first. Then, I guess you can put together story lines. Long, pointless story lines. Then it just ends with the characters kind of shrugging like "Meh. Just another chapter in our fxcked up fairytale world."
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c nelson
October 28, 2016
The movie kept me guessing the three parts that they had in this movie from The Princess father give away his daughter to a atoll and the second part was the two old sisters one was trying be with the Prince and third one was head princess want a child so she got pregnant by a sea monster to have a son,,,
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Ellie Smith
May 1, 2016
A truly kinky depiction of what may be origin tales. The dark stories they may have told children to scare them into behaving hundreds of years ago. PROS: Wonderful acting, cinematography, and depictions. CONS:Just when you think they wouldn't "go there" they really do "go there." SUMMARY: twisted is the best word for this movie.
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