January 7th: BLANCANIEVES (Pablo Berger, 2012)

A re-telling of the Snow White tale, set partially in the bullfighting culture of Andalusia.

Writer-director Pablo Berger was born in Spain, but attended film school at New York University.  After teaching and working in P.R. and music, he made his first feature Torremolinos 73 (2003).

After stumbling upon a photo of bullfighting dwarves, Berger was inspired to adapt the famous Brothers Grimm fairy tale.  It took him almost ten years to raise financing after completing the script. and by the time he began production, Michel Hazanuvicius' black & white silent The Artist made a huge splash at the Cannes Film Festival (and eventually the Oscars), rendering Berger's novelty idea less unique.

In addition to the oft-interpreted source material, Berger also drew from Spanish folklore and iconography, and the long history of Spanish cinema, particularly latter's distinct brand of melodrama.

As with The Artist, Berger's film was shot in the old 1.33:1 aspect ratio and processed to black & white.  The difference is that Berger relied on no sound effects, utilizing only a traditional Spanish musical score for accompaniment.  Aesthetically, he reached further back and away from Hollywood for influences, drawing on early French silents, German Expressionism, and the work of innovators Carl Th. Dreyer, Sergei Eisenstein and Luis Buñuel.

The film was shot on location in Seville, Madrid, and Barcelona, among other Spanish areas.  The cast is led by Maribel Verdú (Y Tu Mama Tambien, Pan's Labyrinth), Daniel Giménez Cacho (Almodovar's Bad Education), veteran actress Ángela Molina, and newcomer Macarena García in the title role.  The outstanding musical score was composed by Alfonso de Vilallonga.

Blancanieves received a seven Spanish critic awards including Best Film and Director, as well as ten of Spain's Goya awards including Best Film, Actress (Verdú), Screenplay, Cinematography and Score.  It was Spain's official submission for the Foreign Language category at the Oscars, and Roger Ebert selected it for his Overlooked Film Festival before his death.

Running time is approx. 1 hr, 45 min.