Tale of Tales

Matteo Garrone (Gomorrah) gives us the scrumptiously deranged, gorgeously ornate Tale of Tales, a welcome return to the grimmer reaches of the fairy tale as it bucks the trend toward redemptive origin stories. Inspired by the work of Italian author Giambattista Basile, this European co-production comprises a trio of briefly intersecting stories taking place in three adjacent kingdoms, presenting the outlandish tribulations of the realm's respective royals - who include a possessive mother (Salma Hayek), a negligent father (Toby Jones) and an arrogant playboy (Vincent Cassel). The pace of this baroque beauty can be indulgently languorous, and the running time is a shade stretched out. But it's worth your immersion: the cast is divine, the cinematography, costuming and production design are to die for, and smatterings of absurdity and black humour never compromise what is primarily a satisfyingly sincere treatment of the material. Moreover, the emphasis on female perspectives gives modern resonance to an adaptation that simultaneously has oodles of time for the traditional.