l_rawjalaurence Laden with awards; entered as Best Foreign Language Film for the 2013 Oscars; it seems rather churlish to criticize Pablo Berger's silent retelling of the Snow White myth, bearing strong visual and stylistic parallels to Michel Hazanavicius's THE ARTIST (2011).And yet the film's overall impact is reduced by an uncertainty of tone. There are sequences of quite graphic violence - notably at the beginning, when bull-fighter Antonio Villalta (Daniel Giménez Cacho) is gored by the bull; or when the infant Carmencita (Sofía Oria) is force-fed roast chicken by the evil Doña Concha (Ángela Molina), the remains of her once-faithful pet Pepe. Such moments exist uneasily with the comedy of the adolescent Carmen (Macarena García) as she joins up with the bull-fighting dwarfs, who tour the country with a specialty act. Then there is the problem of the ending which is positively necrophiliac in tone. Perhaps director Berger wants to make a veiled comment on the ways in which innocence is at once cherished yet abused in contemporary societies, but the sudden shifts of tone prove uneasy.On the other hand, BLANCANIEVES contains some stunning individual sequences, attesting to the director's abilities as a filmmaker; for example, the use of dissolves unifying past with the present, as the dead Antonio continues to affect Carmen's life, even after he has been thrown down the stairs by Doña Concha; or the moment when Doña Concha meets a grisly end at the bull-fighting venue, gored to death by an angry bull. The use of shadows to suggest violence in this latter sequence is memorable.As a piece of silent movie-making, BLANCANIEVES is hard to fault. Berger understands how one image is worth a hundred words, and keeps the dialogue to a minimum. Rather he relies on the gestural versatility of his cast to communicate emotions - a task they embrace with relish. Add to that the snappy editing, with a plot that positively zips by, and one can see why this remake of Snow White proves so diverting. If it wasn't for those tonal shifts ...

Vlasis p "A complete creation that reminds you how well defined is the battle between good and evil and how mankind oscillates between! A great collection of realistic and attractive characters! A story of a woman and a man against the forces of luck! A poem for love! A song for the importance of family! An objective criticism to people! A strong reality! A scream! A prayer! A priceless lesson we must teach in all classrooms! A masterpiece! An example of what is the power of cinema! An endless source of messages! A work of art that should surprise everyone! Thank you Pablo, we needed this film! .......Definitely the best film I have ever seen! Bravo!"

zetes The best film I've seen in a long while. A modern silent film, it's a true visual masterpiece. Words definitely would have just gotten in the way. Based on the Snow White fairy tale (though it's at its best when it's not following that story closely), the film follows a young girl, Carmen, after her mother dies in childbirth and her father (Daniel Gimenez Cacho) is made a paraplegic in a bullfight. As a child (played by the lovely Sofia Oria), she lives with her grandmother. When she dies, though, Carmen goes to live with her father and his new wife (Maribel Verdu, one of the most photogenic people on Earth). Of course, her stepmother is wicked. Her wheelchair-bound father is restricted to his bedroom. She's forbidden to see her father, but eventually she sneaks up to his room, where he teachers her the art of bullfighting. When Carmen grows up (now played by Macarena Garcia), her stepmother tries to dispatch her. She's saved by six bullfighting dwarfs, who, teaming up with the girl in their shows, bill themselves as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (the tale is known to them). This film isn't much about the story, although it is actually quite involving. The images are astounding. It's the kind of film where you could take any frame and hang it on your wall. The three main actresses are stunning. Verdu in particular - man, can that woman wear some clothes! The actresses playing Carmen both have these amazing eyes. I was swept along and absolutely amazed.

Thanos Karagioras Pablo Berger make a really good job directing this movie and I believe that it's a movie that will like to everybody. He took the Snow White fairy tale and linked it with the Spanish culture and the Spanish traditions such as bullfights and bullfighters."Blancanieves" is a movie which in many moments of it makes you mixed feelings for everything that happens. From one side we have Carmen (Macarena García) who is the daughter of Antonio Villalta and from the other side we have Antonio Villalta (Daniel Giménez Cacho) who is an old ruined bullfighter with his wife and stepmother of Carmen, Encarna (Maribel Verdú).Some points are the same as in fairy tale with dwarfs who save the life of Snow White but all of these are influenced by Spanish culture, that is something that makes this movie special and unique.