Pinocchio

Director Matteo Garrone first explored European fairy tales with his 2015 film Tale of Tales, and this adaptation of Carlo Collodi's infamous 1881 novel is something of a spiritual follow-up. It sticks closely to the original as Pinocchio (Federico Ielapi) is fashioned from a block of magical wood by poor woodcarver Geppetto (Roberto Benigni). Springing to impudent life, he embarks on a series of fantastical adventures, all the while wishing he could be a real boy. Combining live action, prosthetics and subtle CGI with lavish production design, Garrone ensures that all the familiar elements are present, including the growing nose, the talking cricket, and the incinerated feet. To modern eyes, it might look like a story of child abuse - Pinocchio is, at various points, swindled, kidnapped, drowned and hanged - but even Disney's 1940 version recognised how dark Collodi's original is. Garrone's adaptation may be episodic in nature and lacking a dramatic throughline, but its rich imagery and loyalty to the original must rank it as the definitive screen version of the classic tale.