Has anyone heard anything about Burlesque Fairytales coming out on DVD yet? I am tempted to pay the $7 to watch it on Vimeo...

Well, I watched it today. Could not wait. 

I liked the film very much. It has a mysterious atmosphere throughout with fantastic elements. Beautiful images, using fragments of fairytales from different cultures. The story is getting increasingly tense until the surprising solution which remains slightly enigmatic until the end. 

Benedict is good as always, his looks "Last Enemy" style but softer in his demeanour. It is wonderful to see him play a father of three children. And of course to see him acting opposite Sophie Hunter who has a lovely voice (she is also a good singer, I listened to some of the French songs she recorded). Their parts are not very big as it is an ensemble cast without major and minor characters. 

An unusual and atmospheric film which I can fully recommend. Of course it is more expensive than a DVD because you can watch it only for 24 hours but it was 7 $ well spent. 

Well, it is set in a theatre, probably in London during WWII. There is a mixed group of people meeting there by invitation to watch the programme called "Burlesque Fairytales". From the beginning there is an underlying sense of mystery and something dark. There is a presenter (the actor playing the butler in Downton Abbey, forgot his name) who seems subtly threatening leading through the performance which consists of several episodes mixing genres like drama and ballet. The episodes are framed by the stories of the audience. Hope this helps. 

Yes, that's him. Although I did not know that he is married to Imelda Staunton. Great actress. Saw her the first time in "Peter's Friends". 

Dan and I watched this last night and I really liked it (Dan did not). 

It did have a Gothic feel to it and was very atmospheric.  I checked on Rotten Tomatoes and saw that it had no critical reviews although it did have a 92% "want to see" rating. 

We viewed it on Kodi and found not too  bad of number of downloads there, so I will probably be able to see it again sometime later (which I will do) although in the recent past I have had hard time getting a connection for this particular movie.

What I liked about the film..

1) Benedict - his character was very sympathetic and a very humble, ordinary man.  Quiet, unassuming and yet he stood up to the more brash, arrogant Peter Bythe-Smith.  BC played his character with pitch perfect nuances, showing his growing strength as the tension mounts and was fully capable of bringing a depth to his character which made me feel for him throughout.  And I have to say that he played very well with the children who were cast as his family - his manner with them was entirely believable, whether he was being gentle, exasperated or worried about them.

2) Sophie Hunter - I loved seeing her act with BC.  She definitely isn't on the same acting plane as BC (very few are frankly) but there was lots of on screen chemistry between them in their scenes together.  And Sophie did a fine job of portraying her character Annabel on her own as well or in her scenes with the Henry's children. She was mousy (much like BC's character) at first, but found her independent  voice as the film progressed. 

In fact, another point that I really loved about the film was all the parallels there were between the development of those two characters.  They both were subjugated by Mr. Bythe-Smith in the beginning (Henry because of his position at work, Annabel because of Peter's patronising and controlling attitudes towards his wife) but they found themselves drawn together during the night as two creatures with a common bond (trying to find themselves emotionally) and finally had the strength to face their realities (Henry's loss of his wife and Annabel's loss of her marriage and child to be). 

3) I also liked the theme of a society on the brink of war (distruptive impact on the social structures as well as a magnification of the "loss theme").  And the movie done on an absolute shoestring budget (about £35,000) and all the actors donated their performances but the special effects were still impressive nonetheless. 

4) I liked the element of the two sisters (Annabel and Grace).  It added another dimension to the story and allowed for some narritive explains that flowed naturally in the story.

5) I loved Jim Carter in his role, as the Master of Ceremonies at the Theatre.  What a commanding, menancing presence! 

6) the fairytale about the mother searching for Death.  Really, really harrowing and emotional. 


What I didn't like about the film -

1) the first fairytale.   The weakest of the lot IMO.  I did finally see the connection with the theatre goers lives but still I don't know if that story was an over reach by the director or not but it didn't work for me.

What I was puzzled about by the movie -

The ending.  Maybe it was very esoteric for a good reason but it did lead to a bit of  confusion for me when I first watched it.  It felt incomplete on first viewing.  Afterward, Ithought about it more and I think I understand it a bit more now, but I wish I could pick the director's mind to see just where she wanted it to lead us to.    It is frustrating when there is so little about the themes and symbolism used in the movie.  I have a real thurst for knowledge about the contents of this movie and there is just nothing out there about it.

Overall I would have to say that it was a very interesting film and well worth the time it took to watch it.  I am not really into watching fantasy films and yet this one was quite enjoyable.  And BC (and Sophie) made it a treat as well!

-Val