lazarillo This is movie is based on a novel by Angela Carter made soon after the renown British author had collaborated with Neil Jordan on the cult horror/fantasy film "The Company of Wolves". This movie does not benefit from the directorial talent of someone like Neil Jordan, but it is still a pretty interesting film about a privileged adolescent girl who becomes orphaned and has to move with her younger siblings to the dreary London home of her tyrannical toy-maker/puppeteer uncle, his mute wife, and the wife's wild Irish brothers, one of whom she develops an attraction to.Angela Carter basically writes fairy tales for adolescents, but not really fairy tales in the present-day sense. Today "fairy tales" are associated with Disney and Pixar and other saccharine kiddie films. You could also consider comic-book movies and "Star Wars" reboots to be "fairy tales" for older children and teens, Hollywood rom-coms as "fairy tales" for adult women, and perhaps even porno movies could be thought of as "fairy tales" for male adults. All of these are alike in that they're ALL really escapist fantasy. But Carter's fairy tales mine the older, more literary fairy tale tradition of the Grimm Brother or Hans Christian Anderson and have a darker, more disturbing and much less escapist tone to them (and certainly more literary gravitas). But Carter also adds an element of more overt coming-of-age female sexuality. The fifteen-year-old heroine here (played by a twenty-something Caroline Milmoe) is first seen admiring her own full-frontal nakedness in a full-length mirror before trying on her mother's wedding dress. Later when her uncle tries to turn into a living puppet in one of his bizarre puppet shows, he--perhaps not coincidentally--has her play "Leda" a wood nymph who in Greek mythology who is raped by the god Zeus in the form of a swan. And there is an intimation (made much more clear in the book) that he actually wants his young brother-in-law to deflower his orphaned niece in order to degrade her.Not that this movie is in any way graphic or that it ever entirely leaves the realm of fairy tale and metaphor. There have been plenty of "adult" fairy tale movies (ACTUAL porn adaptations of things like Cinderella or Snow White) over the years, but that is not anything that has ever interested Carter. Her work is probably closest to the tradition of "magical realism" that is popular in certain kinds of literature, but is very difficult to translate into cinema. But even so, she brings a more adolescent, more female perspective that is uniquely all her own.The main problem with this movie is it simply can't compare with the book (and it is certainly less successful in that respect than "Company of Wolves"), but I still think it compares pretty well to most movies.

sarah-gallogly I saw this film when I was very young and it was shown on British TV. It made a huge impression on with its fairytale story and blackly humorous touches. Years went by and I hadnt thought of the film until I wanted to see the comments for it on IMDb.com. I managed to get a DVD copy It was even more brilliant than I remembered.Melanie is orphaned when her parents die on holiday and is left to take her younger brother and sister to live with her strange uncle who has not had contact with the family. Her uncle owns a toyshop which is filled with wonderful toys and disturbing life like puppets. She also meets the rest of the family in his mute wife and her brothers. Her uncle puts on surreal plays with the puppets and makes Melanie take part. She develops a relationship with Finn who is her aunts brother and discovers the incestuous secret in the family.I love this film because it is so quirky and deals with the subjects of growing up and relationships in such an interesting way. The dialogue works and the actors are all well cast, especially Melanie and her aunt. Tom Bell brings the right amount of creepiness as the uncle. The sets are all fab and really give a sense of a post war Britain (you will know what I mean when you see the bathroom!) Great film and I wish they would put this out on general release as I had a tough time trying to get a copy.

David198 This film was shown on ITV in the UK on a Saturday night in 1988 or 1989, and enjoyed a 2-page feature in the main UK listings magazine of the day. Since then it has disappeared without trace, presumably because its mixture of fantasy, horror, mild eroticism, romance, and apparent children's fare never found a target audience. Even Caroline Milmoe, then 23, who played the 15-year old central character hasn't appeared in TV or films since 1995.The story is unique and literally unforgettable. Having just procured a copy from the USA and seen it for the first time in 17 years, I'm amazed at how much I could still remember. Some of the scenes are beautiful and dream-like; others are down to earth kitchen-sink drama. And the whole takes place in a real world that isn't quite the real world, one where magic is an accepted part of life.An incredibly imaginative and totally involving film.

maatmouse I have recently found this film on one of my husband's VHS tapes (the blank variety which he uses to record stuff from the telly). The film looks as if it was last shown in the eighties and I don't remember having seen it since. It has not (to my knowledge) been released on DVD or VHS although I shall browse around for a copy.The film tells the story of three young people: two girls, one on the edge of puberty and the other much younger, and a young boy who go to live with their mother's brother and his young, mute Irish wife. His wife also has two brothers who live with them. The children's uncle is an unpleasant control freak who forces his young wife to wear a silver collar whilst she watches a marionette show put on by him and her brothers in his toyshop.The eldest girl and one of the Irishmen (the younger) develop a love for each other whilst they live in the same house. The girl helps her aunt out in the shop whilst her brother helps his uncle to make things in the workshop.There are a lot of very disturbing elements to the film. There is the uncle's treatment of his wife as some kind of dumb (literally) possession (illustrated by the collar) whilst the Irish indulge dancing, drinking and somewhat forbidden love. Interestingly, though, I have seen far more explicit themes played out in other movies made in Hollywood today.Makes you wonder whether the British film industry and the BBC have some kind of hidden agenda going on.Still, despite it not being a children's movie, there are a lot of playful, magic moments in it and the one Irishman does some beautiful paintings.