Packed with all but facts

{LDQUO}The Brothers Grimm,” the newest movie by director Terry

Gilliam, is classified as an Adventure/ Comedy/ Fantasy/

Horror/Thriller film. That’s a mouthful, but it’s accurate. This

movie has a little bit of everything, and a whole lot of nothing.

If your reason for wanting to see “The Brothers Grimm” is to learn

about the interesting lives of the real Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, who

criss-crossed Germany collecting oral folk tales for an impressive

compendium that’s respected to this day, don’t bother. This film

unashamedly toys with historical facts like they’re glockenspiel

dolls, mixing them up to suit the plot. For instance, in the movie,

the brothers are con artists, exploiting superstitious villagers by

“saving their towns from evil enchantment.” Using pulleys and smoke,

they “rid” them of whatever evil creature terrorized them.

Also, the film erroneously portrays Wilhelm as the elder brother,

which isn’t a big deal, but it plays a fairly major role in the

characters’ relationship. Historically accurate is the fact that

Germany was occupied by the French during this time span, but it’s

doubtful there were French generals like the one played overly

absurdly by Gilliam-movie veteran Jonathan Pryce.

All that aside, this movie is not a waste of time. Shot on

location and soundstages in Prague, Czechoslovakia, the scenery and

lighting are eerily gorgeous. The little German village where most of

the action takes place was built using time-worn wood and looks

straight out of a book of fairy tales. The tower, where the evil

queen resides, looks equally authentic. And the forest, with its

creepy moving trees, is something that will live on in your deep

subconscious mind. The special effects are numerous and very cool,

except for the big, bad wolf, which was surprisingly awkward in its

movements.

Matt Damon, Monica Bellucci and especially the irresistible Heath

Ledger are good despite having to slog through a script that’s rather

pointless. Written by Ehren Kruger (“The Ring,” “The Skeleton Key”),

it relies on fairy tale archetypes to increase the importance of an

otherwise standard plot (evil queen needs innocents’ blood; good

guys’ need to be courageous). And fairy tale archetypes abound. There

are glass slippers, magic beans, frogs to kiss, gingerbread men and

red riding hoods. There are also classic horror symbols such as

cracked mirrors, aging faces and swarms of scuttling insects. But

most of these images are gratuitous having no real meaning or

purpose.

It’s dangerous to have high expectations of a movie. My

disappointment with this one was substantial. But if you’re in the

mood for a little adventure/ comedy with a dash of fantasy/ horror

thrown in and some thrilling visual effects on top, you may want to

check this out.

* LISA DUPUY is a freelance writer who lives in La Crescenta.