RE: The Last Movie You Watched
September 23, 2024 at 8:54 am
(This post was last modified: September 23, 2024 at 9:04 am by Nanny.)
Guillermo Del Toro's Pinocchio (2022) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guillermo_..._Pinocchio
Beautiful and weird, this is not a movie for young children. While the familiar story of Geppetto, Pinocchio, and the cricket may appear well suited for the wee ones, this story deals with some heavy shit. Geppetto's son, Carlo, is killed in an air raid. A despondent Geppetto crawls inside a bottle and creates the puppet 20 years later, in interwar fascist Italy. The immortal Pinocchio joins the circus, is executed by Mussolini, is re-animated, and enlists in the army. Like I said, weird heavy stuff. Pinocchio seems more of a golem than puppet at times, and his "realness" comes from within. This contrasts with the people of the story - fascists puppets themselves - and rethinking of Toyland as a military training camp. As with his other works, this Del Toro film explores otherness.
Visually the movie is riveting. The stop motion work provides a depth that CGI simply can't. The story is hard. The musical numbers are over the top (I had to skip through a couple of them, they were so sappy). While not light fare this version of the often-told story brings in fresh, if weird, storylines compared to the tale I was taught as a lad. Worthy of a watch.
Beautiful and weird, this is not a movie for young children. While the familiar story of Geppetto, Pinocchio, and the cricket may appear well suited for the wee ones, this story deals with some heavy shit. Geppetto's son, Carlo, is killed in an air raid. A despondent Geppetto crawls inside a bottle and creates the puppet 20 years later, in interwar fascist Italy. The immortal Pinocchio joins the circus, is executed by Mussolini, is re-animated, and enlists in the army. Like I said, weird heavy stuff. Pinocchio seems more of a golem than puppet at times, and his "realness" comes from within. This contrasts with the people of the story - fascists puppets themselves - and rethinking of Toyland as a military training camp. As with his other works, this Del Toro film explores otherness.
Visually the movie is riveting. The stop motion work provides a depth that CGI simply can't. The story is hard. The musical numbers are over the top (I had to skip through a couple of them, they were so sappy). While not light fare this version of the often-told story brings in fresh, if weird, storylines compared to the tale I was taught as a lad. Worthy of a watch.