This is a cracking silent film that sees the traditional "Snow White" story presented in monochrome and transferred to the arena of the toreador. Our heroine is "Carmen" (Macarena García) whose father was a renowned bullfighter "Villalta" (Daniel Gimênez Cacho) but on the day of her birth he suffers a double tragedy that leads him ultimately to marry his rather malevolent nurse "Encarna" (Maribel Verdú). Fortunately for her, "Carmen" went to live with her loving grandmother but upon her death she had to return to her ailing father and his rather brutal second wife. Her new life proves unbearable, so she flees to the forest where she encounters seven diminutive matadors who take her in, name her "Blancanieves" and, seeing that she has inherited some of her father's skill in the bull ring, anticipate making a fortune with her - sure she will be a great crowd-pleaser. The artistry involved here is stunning with the whole production design giving this adaptation a lovely richness as the sparing inter-titles keep us informed on just what is going on. Verdú is really quite menacing, in a sort of Dame Kristen Scott Thomas manner with a "sweet" smile that could strip the hide from you. The girl's mischievous yet kind forest friends add a delightful, and sometimes quite comedic, element of hope and fun to the proceedings and I actually thought, for a while at least, that there was a fair chance that Pablo Berger would amend the ending! The accompaniment has a lovely Spanish flair to it. Sometimes gentle, seductive, sometimes rousing and almost stormy, and it helps sustain the mood of this dark interpretation that is anything but Disney. If you ever get a chance to watch in a cinema, then you ought to take it - this is a celebration of Spanish culture that looks marvellous up on a big screen.
