Art imitates life – or is it the other way around? – in director Terry Gilliam’s gonzo adventure fantasy chronicling the whimsical adventures of Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm (Matt Damon and Heath Ledger), the most powerful and feared enemies of the armies of darkness. Well, that’s what they claim to be, anyway; in reality (such as it is), Will and Jake are theatrical con men, traveling from town to town in French-occupied Germany in the late 18th century, staging the very hauntings, possessions and general supernatural nuisances that they then conveniently exorcise – for a very hefty fee. Their mischievous sound and light show is soon upstaged by the real deal after they’re forced by a French general (Jonathan Pryce) to find out who (or what) is behind the disappearances of several young girls from the small village of Marbaden; the residents suspect dark forces are at work, and it turns out they’re right – the kidnappings come courtesy of the Mirror Queen (Monica Bellucci), a witch who needs the girls’ blood to maintain her own beauty and immortality. The script by Ehren Kruger (and an uncredited Gilliam and Terry Grisoni) contains references to several Grimm fairy tales we all know and love, creating a multi-layered “What If?” scenario that suggests that only real experience could’ve inspired such bizarre, timeless tales; the film itself is the product of many creative entanglements (or is that “creative differences?”), most of them coming from a now-legendary feud between Gilliam and producers Harvey and Bob Weinstein during both principal photography and post production. – IFC Staff
Brothers Grimm, The
