FairyTale: A True Story

1997

Drama / Family / Fantasy / Mystery

11
IMDb Rating 6.5/10 10 6633 6.6K

fairy tale fairy

Director

Charles Sturridge Photo
Charles Sturridge

Top cast

Mel Gibson Photo
Mel Gibson as Frances' Father
Bill Nighy Photo
Bill Nighy as Edward Gardner
Harvey Keitel Photo
Harvey Keitel as Harry Houdini
Anthony Calf Photo
Anthony Calf as Geoffrey Hodson
720p.BLU 1080p.BLU
895.42 MB
1280*694
English 2.0
NR
us  ro  
24 fps
1 hr 37 min
Seeds 4
1.8 GB
1920*1040
English 5.1
NR
us  ro  
24 fps
1 hr 37 min
Seeds 12

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by Efenstor 5 / 10

A magical story behind the poorly directed film

Everyone who's deeply interested in folklore, as I dare to say I am, knows the story of the Fairies of Cottingley, it's one nearly-epic story of the two girls who inadvertently made a half of the world actually believe in magical creatures (I don't count children, for they did, they do and they will believe, and that's wondrous), and the best part of the epic is that they had never straightforwardly confessed that they've forged it just not to ruin people's glimpse of faith in magical.If that's what this movie should have been telling about then it certainly does not the job. Despite the wonderful and believable acting of Florence Hoath and Elizabeth Earl, the incoherent screenplay and direction ruin everything and only a shadow of the childhood magic remains in the dark corner pushed away by the social-drama clichés (they even managed to insert there a villain and the goddammit comic relief!). And the top-notch CGI doesn't help out. There's more magic even in ghost-story movies, such as 'Lady in White' or 'The Changeling'. Worth watching, but only once. I deeply hope that some day someone will make a movie worthy of this story's spiritual background, so you'd understand why some perfectly sane people believe in fairies, even without the photographs.One of my favorite books is the collection of narrative tales, recorded in the middle of the 20th century among the Siberian villagers, mostly in the Chita region, by V.P. Zinovyev, and the thing I really love and adore in those stories is that those people actually believe all the folklore things they're speaking about! It's grievous that there are less and less such people live in this world, of that kind who believe because of the purity of the heart, not because of fear or passion. Some call those people dark and unenlightened, some laugh at them, but the thing they actually have is the faith, whilst everyone else have only a ghost of it. That who knows cannot believe.
Reviewed by gavin6942 7 / 10

A Mostly Enjoyable Account of a True Story

In 1917, two children take a photograph, which is soon believed by some to be the first scientific evidence of the existence of fairies.First of all, much praise to Harvey Keitel in his portrayal of Harry Houdini. Whether there were camera tricks or not, his on-screen illusions look great. He also portrays the character rather well. Keitel, much better known for his foul-mouthed cop-and-gangster roles, really shines here.As a whole, I liked the movie, and I think it presented a fairly accurate account of what happened in this case. I am a bit disappointed that it left open the idea that believing in fairies is a good, rational thing to do, but I guess that's just the cynic in me. I should be praising them for giving kids a sense of wonder.
Reviewed by emm 6 / 10

Dramatic fairy tale aims for a more suitable crowd.

There are two different points of view that FAIRYTALE's difficult story can be told: the children and the adults. Apparently, it looks like the adults will be far more interested than the children because of its long discussions about fairy sightings and its overly dramatic nature; this actually is the kind of audience this movie was shooting for. On the children's side, it is magical in the make-believe universe, but not without a couple of horrifying and sorrowful moments (the scarred-face soldier out of WWI, for instance), and may end up as boredom along the way. The fairies and their surroundings would have looked better on the screen if they appeared larger, but there some things to believe in, just as the opening scene tells you; they do exist as fantasy figures to enlighten a child's imagination. The two young girls pull off some charming performances, and some luscious scenery is vivid all throughout. FAIRYTALE should have been a real "family" fantasy picture in the way it is presented, but stands out its own way as a movie that focuses on a slight examination of sightings that is virtually unexplainable (almost similar to science fiction!). Children will most likely appreciate the fairies more than the movie itself. And where is Mel Gibson???
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