Tale of Tales

Drama • R • Directed by: Matteo Garrone • 134 minutes

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.