Tale of Tales

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Tale of Tales

R

Released Apr 22, 2016

2h 5m

Fantasy

Adventure

History

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

83%

Tomatometer

105 Reviews

56%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

Three fairy tales revolve around a king (John C. Reilly) who must slay a sea monster, a giant flea and a womanizing ruler (Vincent Cassel) who's in for a surprise.

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Critics Consensus

Visually splendid and narratively satisfying, Tale of Tales packs an off-kilter wallop for mature viewers in search of something different.

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Mark Kermode

Observer (UK)

A timeless portrayal of the bonds of sisterly love, a theme amplified by both the defiance and pathos of Henderson's wonderful performance.

Rated: 4/5

Jun 19, 2016

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Kate Muir

Times (UK)

The adult fairytale is a freakish, hybrid, disturbing creature, mostly forgotten in these days of Disney sanitisation, but Tale of Tales resurrects the genre with surreal humour and gothic horror.

Rated: 4/5

Jun 17, 2016

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Geoffrey Macnab

Independent (UK)

Tale Of Tales is a Felliniesque fantasy drama, distinguished by its lavish production design and very fluid camera work.

Rated: 4/5

Jun 17, 2016

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Yasser Medina

Cinefilia

Garrone takes care to add authenticity to the costumes and sets, but the three fantastic tales lack grace and become hopelessly boring in their macabre sense of irony. [Full review in Spanish]

Rated: 5/10

Mar 21, 2025

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

Though the film is decidedly not for children, it remains almost revisionist in its faithfully disturbing origins.

Rated: 3.5/4

Apr 15, 2022

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Nicholas Bell

IONCINEMA.com

Garrone's accomplishment follows in the footsteps of classic Italian auteurs, a carnivalesque metaphor on a grand scale with superb visual elements we used to see from directors like Federico Fellini and Pier Paolo Pasolini.

Rated: 4/5

Sep 30, 2020

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Georgan G

These overlapping tales are horrific. The fact that the plots are based on the earliest recorded European fairy tales make it all the more unique. The acting is top knotch and the film itself is beautiful.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

11/24/24

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Bruce L

Slow, disjointed, uninteresting characters that I didn't care what happens to them and unfinished storyline. Terrible.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

07/13/24

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Marion W

Visually very appealing, and an aspect of gruesome and gothic style horror, but the narrative also left me wanting. A lot of the stories felt disjointed, and loosely chopped together with no one story being long enough to really engage the audience in the way other gothic horror or gothic fantasy does. It left me rather unsatisfied by the plot lines.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

05/21/24

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Rachel

I wish they could have spent more time on each individual story, it seemed a bit chopped together and disjointed for me. Otherwise, I really enjoyed it. I do think this idea would have been much more better suited for a TV series.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/07/24

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Logan D

A queen that will go to any lengths to have a child, a beloved flea, and a pair of old crones wooing a king. Based on a collection of fairy tales by Italian poet Giambattista Basile, titled Pentamerone, these are from the days when fairy tales were for adults. I found the film far more enjoyable than I predicted. The stories are just so weird and disturbing. There doesn't seem to be an overall point to the film as a whole and I do wonder how it would've appeared if each tale was told and resolved individually. Oftentimes the jumps from one story to another was awkward. If you're looking for something different, here it is.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/03/24

Full Review

Alec B

Perhaps one of the few "Fairy Tales for Adults" movies that keeps the whimsy of the source material. Even with the added violence and sexual content it never engages in deconstruction which is quite refreshing.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/10/24

Full Review

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Matteo Garrone

Director

Salma Hayek

Queen of Longtrellis

Vincent Cassel

King of Strongcliff

Toby Jones

King of Highhills

John C. Reilly

King of Longtrellis

Shirley Henderson

Imma

Tale of Tales: Trailer 1

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Tale of Tales: International Trailer 1

2:27

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Synopsis

Three fairy tales revolve around a king (John C. Reilly) who must slay a sea monster, a giant flea and a womanizing ruler (Vincent Cassel) who's in for a surprise.

Director: Matteo Garrone
Producer: Matteo Garrone, Jeremy Thomas, Jean Labadie, Anne Labadie
Screenwriter: Edoardo Albinati, Ugo Chiti, Matteo Garrone, Massimo Gaudioso
Distributor: IFC Films
Production Co: Archimede, RAI Cinema, Le Pacte, Recorded Pictures Company
Rating: R (Nudity|Bloody Images|Sexuality|Some Violence)
Genre: Fantasy, Adventure, History, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 22, 2016, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 5, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $92.1K
Runtime: 2h 5m
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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