Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on December 2013

If you’re up for something completely different, try on this visually stunning, painstakingly crafted B&W silent movie from Spain, writer/director Pablo Berger’s knowing riff on the Grimm boys’ Snow White. (A few dialogue cards in Spanish, but you can figure them out.) With its bullfighting motif, dark wit, and a kinky dominatrix of an evil stepmother, this magical, macabre, melancholy movie is definitely not for kids. (Toto, I don’t think we’re in Disneyland anymore.) I’d call the symphonically lush, flamenco-themed score intrusive if it didn’t work so perfectly in every scene. ¡Ole! (104 min)