533: Gretel & Hansel

[00:00:01] Let's get to Gretel and Hansel from 2020. It's directed by Osgood Perkins who just did Long Legs.

[00:00:12] It stars Sophia Lillis, Samuel Leakey, Alice Cridge, Jessica Degow.

[00:00:19] And the synopsis is,

[00:00:21] In a distant land, two siblings, Hansel and Gretel, wander through the woods in search of food and work.

[00:00:29] When a mysterious lady offers them a way out, they accept without thinking about the consequences.

[00:00:37] Well, I hadn't seen this one since it came out. When I first saw it, I thought it was alright.

[00:00:45] It's probably one of the best examples of an arthouse indie movie not being for everyone.

[00:00:54] It's almost more than anything an exercise in mood and atmosphere.

[00:01:01] There's not that much going on underneath. The script is very nuts and bolts, I think intentionally so.

[00:01:13] But I know having read a lot of user reviews that a lot of people say it's super boring, nothing happens, it drags on.

[00:01:23] But then a lot of critics and some audiences really, really like it.

[00:01:30] I liked Osgood Perkins' other films, I Am The Pretty Thing That Lives in the House and The Black Coat's Daughter.

[00:01:38] Those are both alright, but I haven't seen them in a while.

[00:01:41] Of these three, this would be my favorite, but I heard very good things about Long Legs.

[00:01:49] As the title suggests with switching the names around, the movie definitely takes on a feminist narrative or focus with how Gretel is the confident leader of the two.

[00:02:04] And then Hansel is the young, immature brother that is like, oh no, the witch or this old lady is fine, we're getting food, we're okay, let's not worry about anything.

[00:02:14] And then Gretel is questioning everything, toughing things out.

[00:02:19] And some of that commentary might be a little heavy handed, but it works in the context of the movie and it's refreshing to see a classic story, a classic fairy tale like this told in that way.

[00:02:33] What's praised most about the movie across the board is it is gorgeous to look at.

[00:02:42] As cheesy as it is to say, it's one of those movies that you could describe as every frame could be a painting.

[00:02:51] The locations, like the look of the forest, amazing.

[00:02:54] There's both a lot of color in the look of the leaves and the ground, but then a lot of shadows and darkness at the same time.

[00:03:04] And really the whole movie is showcasing a balance of light and dark, both visually and narratively.

[00:03:13] I noticed this time around that I didn't really the first time.

[00:03:20] The interior and exterior visual style is, maybe it sounds obvious to say, but it's not inherently something that a lot of movies do in that the interior is fire centric lighting.

[00:03:36] So fireplaces, torches, candlelight.

[00:03:40] It's all very gloomy and cloudy and sometimes you can barely even see the characters faces.

[00:03:47] It's so dark, but beautiful.

[00:03:50] And then the exterior is a lot of low angles.

[00:03:55] So you see the sky, you see the sunlight, even if it's very cloudy.

[00:04:00] There's a lot of natural vivid light coming through the trees.

[00:04:04] Plus, despite the narrative thinness, let's say, the direction and editing, combining all of those elements that I was just saying, spot on.

[00:04:17] Like it's so confident.

[00:04:19] It's so clean.

[00:04:20] And the frequent cutting back from interior to exterior to interior to exterior really reinforces the visual differences.

[00:04:34] Along with that, the cinematography when Gretel and Hansel are walking through the woods, more so at the beginning.

[00:04:41] And there's a lot of handheld close-up camera work on her face.

[00:04:46] And even at times it looks like a fisheye lens.

[00:04:50] Kind of similar to how Yorgos Lanthimos shoots his movies, poor things, for example.

[00:05:00] On top of that, the camera will even look like it's attached to Gretel as she's walking.

[00:05:06] And so it'll shake back and forth very methodically.

[00:05:11] Some people don't like that style of camera work.

[00:05:15] I don't mind it if it's done well, and I think it's done well on this.

[00:05:20] The design or location of the witch's house, I like how I'm guessing it's intentional.

[00:05:27] The house feels pretty modern from the outside.

[00:05:31] Like it looks like something you could find on Airbnb.

[00:05:35] Not in a bad way.

[00:05:38] But then the interior is very of the time.

[00:05:45] Some standout scenes, the mushroom eating sequence before they get to the witch's house and they're both high.

[00:05:54] And there's that very disconcerting style of editing when they're both sitting in the same spot and the camera is flipping back and forth between them.

[00:06:04] The sequence towards the beginning when Gretel and Hansel find that inn or some kind of structure to sleep in.

[00:06:14] And then suddenly this man shows up and starts screaming at them and chasing after them.

[00:06:19] So even with those two examples, it does a really good job consistently of maintaining a very eerie, unsettling mood that kept me engaged.

[00:06:32] I understand if it doesn't keep everyone engaged.

[00:06:35] It's for sure a grower of a movie.

[00:06:41] The score is amazing.

[00:06:43] In the third act when Gretel loses it with Hansel and she takes him out to the woods and leaves him there.

[00:06:53] And there's that intense red lighting from the distance and the witch appears.

[00:06:59] Oh, and actually also there's a almost over abundance of triangle imagery throughout this entire movie.

[00:07:09] And or the rule of threes, I guess you could say.

[00:07:15] One of the only uses of CG in this, that's one of the most dramatic shots, is when Gretel is in the witch's basement.

[00:07:25] Which is a great room in terms of the really high walls and ceiling in that massive doorway.

[00:07:32] But when Gretel sees the pipe leaking this black goo and then it turns into a witch.

[00:07:41] And the black goo was her dress.

[00:07:44] And it slowly morphs into a human figure.

[00:07:50] The witch being burned alive with the blue flame.

[00:07:56] Osgood Perkins is very much a up and coming filmmaker who I'm really excited to see what he does next.

[00:08:03] Because these first few movies, while not masterpieces, they still show a filmmaker forming his style and his vision.

[00:08:13] So I can only imagine what he'll be doing five, ten years from now.

[00:08:20] That one is a light four out of five.

[00:08:24] That one is a light five.

[00:08:24] That one, that one was a really good one, he could have.

[00:08:24] So I can only imagine how I bigger than all these movies when they were like.

[00:08:24] And then they're both real friends with the shows that the sky is moving around.

[00:08:24] So I can see if I've seen her as many times at the right time, but, if you can see,

[00:08:24] So I'm in the next room.

[00:08:25] Thank you.