Pinokio

I recently saw Matteo Garrone's Tale of Tales, and I really liked it, so I decided to go to the cinema to see Pinocchio, which I expected to be a similar experience, as the source material is indeed a dark fairy tale. It's definitely a raw version that doesn't shy away from depicting violence, animal abuse and overall bad (not only) human traits. Some of the scenes are spellbinding and horrifying (the hanging Pinocchio or the transformation into a donkey). Story-wise, the film doesn't have much to surprise as it is relatively familiar material. I appreciate the work of the make-up artists, who managed to create several (more or less) scary characters alongside Pinocchio. Despite these attributes, I still felt that a little more could have been made of it. Visually it's beautiful, bizarre and scary, but the story didn't hit me that much. (09.10.2020)

In Garrone’s interpretation, the attempt to return to the roots of the famous literary source material took on the form of a mix of a modern fantasy fairy tale and artistic realism, based primarily on the poetic depiction of the poor Italian countryside and somber scenes rendered in the director’s traditional and distinctive visual stylization, with which he also imbued Tale of Tales and his raw dramas. However, the allegorical incidents of the disobedient, absent-minded and overly trusting protagonist, which cause him temporary trauma and subsequently teach him moral lessons, seem contradictory and disjointed, and some of those lessons even contradict each other, not to mention the presence of several utterly infantile and unbearably tiresome supporting characters. The magical fairy and the cricket appear only sporadically in the film and thus do not have much influence on shaping the moral compass of the titular Pinocchio, whose portrayal is a fundamental flaw of the film, as he is not sufficiently interesting and it is practically impossible to sympathize with him, as if Garrone put too much emphasis on the perfection of his physical appearance and did not even try to charm the audience with his personality, behavior and feelings. Thus, in addition to several plot stumbles, the film also struggles with a lack of emotion and, due to the slow pace of the narrative, often with sluggishness. The film is pushed forward by the actors and excellent technical execution, but thanks to a number of unique moments, the result is successful more for its remarkable bizarreness than for its qualities. (29.09.2020)

A dark and bizarre tale of Pinocchio from Italy with puppets. I don't know if I'd go to the movies with my kids since it's a far cry from Disney fairy tales, but it's okay. Visually, it’s appealing and I found Pinocchio's trap-filled adventures quite entertaining. Even though I'm not the downright target audience, I was entertained and fans of the genre can give add a star. Story****, Action>No, Humor***, Violence>No, Entertainment****, Music***, Visuals****, Atmosphere***, Suspense***. 6.5/10. (10.09.2020)