''Blancanieves'' (known as ''Blancaneu'' in Catalan) is a 2012 Spanish

black-and-white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white to produce a range of achromatic brightnesses of grey. It is also known as greyscale in technical settings. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, ...

silent drama film written and directed by Pablo Berger. Based on the 1812 fairy tale ''

Snow White "Snow White" is a German fairy tale, first written down in the early 19th century. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'', numbered as Tale 53. The original title was ''Sneewittch ...

'' by the

Brothers Grimm The Brothers Grimm ( or ), Jacob Grimm, Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm Grimm, Wilhelm (1786–1859), were Germans, German academics who together collected and published folklore. The brothers are among the best-known storytellers of Oral tradit ...

, the story is set in a romantic vision of 1920s

Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

. However, the film approaches storytelling through the integration of Spanish culture from characters' names to traditions they follow. Additionally, the film alludes to other fairy tales including

Cinderella "Cinderella", or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a Folklore, folk tale with thousands of variants that are told throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsin Press, 1988. The protagonist is a you ...

and

Little Red Riding Hood "Little Red Riding Hood" () is a fairy tale by Charles Perrault about a young girl and a Big Bad Wolf. Its origins can be traced back to several pre-17th-century European Fable, folk tales. It was later retold in the 19th-century by the Broth ...

. While it retells stories originally told through tales based in fantasy, it derails from the traditional storytelling method that ends with a happily ever after. Instead, the film is rather dark and ends in tragedy. Berger calls it a "love letter to European silent cinema." ''Blancanieves'' was Spain's

85th Academy Awards The 85th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2012 and took place on February 24, 2013, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, beginning at 5:30 p ...

official submission to Best Foreign Language category, but it did not make the shortlist. The film won the Special Jury Prize and an ex-aequo Best Actress "Silver Shell" Award for Macarena García at the 2012

San Sebastián International Film Festival The San Sebastián International Film Festival ( SSIFF; , ) is an annual FIAPF A category film festival held in the Spain, Spanish city of Donostia, Donostia-San Sebastián in September, in the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Countr ...

. It was also nominated in every category for which it was eligible at the 27th Goya Awards (except for Best Sound), winning ten

Goya Awards The Goya Awards () are Spain's main national annual film awards. They are presented by the Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences of Spain. The first ceremony was held in 1987, a year after the founding of the Academy of Cinematographic Ar ...

, including the Best Film.

Plot

As a Spanish adaptation of the Brothers Grimm fairytale, ''Snow White'', the film ''Blancanieves'' follows the life of Carmen. Her mother died during childbirth, and her father was left paralyzed after a traumatic bullfighting incident shortly before her birth. Her grandmother cares for her, but after her death, she is left in the care of her stepmother, who married her father for his fame and riches he accumulated as a bull fighter. She mistreats Carmen's father, as he is often left helpless in a room, however Carmen spends time communicating as best as she can with her father. After consistent abuse and mistreatment, Carmen is fearful for her safety and well-being. One day, she is sent out into the woods to gather flowers. The huntsman is sent out after her, where he assaults her, attempts to drown her, and leaves her for dead. She is unconscious, floating downstream, when a group of bullfighters find her and carry her to their home. When she comes to consciousness, she is unable to remember her history, including her name. They begin referring to her as Blancanieves, which translates to Snow White, because of her fair appearance. She grows close to the group of men, who are a traveling spectacle of bull fighters with dwarfism. Eventually, she begins bullfighting herself, unaware that her natural skill comes from the time she spent practicing with her father as a child. Carmen's stepmother learns of Carmen's work as a bullfighter and is left in disbelief, as she thought Carmen had been killed many years ago. She attends a fight, masked in a veil. After a successful fight in the bullfighting ring, the audience is throwing flowers at Carmen. The stepmother reaches out and offers her a poisoned apple. Carmen unsuspectingly takes it and takes a bite. She instantly falls to the ground, and the audience begins to panic. She is transferred into a glass coffin, as they are all under the impression she has died. Rather than laying her to rest, they create a spectacle out of her. They begin charging the public for an opportunity to kiss the famous bullfighter, Blancanieves. In the end, the focus shifts to Carmen lying in the casket, where a single tear runs down her cheek.

Cast

* Macarena García as Carmen Villalta / Blancanieves * Maribel Verdú as Encarna, the evil stepmother * Daniel Giménez Cacho as Antonio Villalta, the father * Ángela Molina as Doña Concha, the grandmother * Inma Cuesta as Carmen de Triana, the mother * Sofía Oria as Carmencita, little Carmen * Josep Maria Pou as Don Carlos, the impresario * Ramón Barea as Don Martín, Antonio's manager * Pere Ponce as Genaro Bilbao, Encarna's chauffeur * Emilio Gavira as Jesusín

Production

The inspiration for the film began when writer-director Pablo Berger saw a photograph of bullfighting dwarves in ''España Oculta'' (1989, ), by Cristina García Rodero. By 2003, Berger had written ''Blancanieves'' and was working to raise funds for it soon after his film '' Torremolinos 73'' was appearing at festivals. In May 2011, he was working on the

storyboard A storyboard is a graphic organizer that consists of simple illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualizing a motion picture, animation, motion graphic or interactive media sequence. The storyboarding proce ...

s for ''Blancanieves'', a film he had in the works for eight years, and he was about to begin

principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...

when news reached him that '' The Artist'' had been shown at the

2011 Cannes Film Festival The 64th Cannes Film Festival took place from 11 to 22 May 2011. American actor Robert De Niro served as the president of the jury for the main competition. American filmmaker Terrence Malick won the Palme d'Or, the festival's top prize, for t ...

"Nobody knew about ''The Artist'' until it appeared in Cannes. It was completely out of the blue. I was in my office in Madrid, doing the storyboards for my film, when a producer friend sent me a text message from the festival saying, 'I've just seen The Artist, it's black and white and silent and it's going to be huge.' I almost threw my phone against the wall. The
high concept High concept is a type of artistic work that can be easily pitched with a succinctly stated premise. It can be contrasted with low concept, which is more concerned with character development and other subtleties that are not as easily summariz ...
was gone."

According to Berger, ''Blancanieves'' is a " love letter to European silent cinema, ... especially French.

Abel Gance Abel Gance (; born Abel Eugène Alexandre Péréthon; 25 October 188910 November 1981) was a French film director, producer, writer and actor. A pioneer in the theory and practice of montage, he is best known for three major silent films: ''J'ac ...

for me is God. Movies like ''

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

'', '' J'Accuse!'', '' La Roue'' are extraordinary." Pablo Berger emphasized the idea that his silent film adaptation of the fairytale, ''

'', takes a much darker approach than traditional tellings of the tale. Even on the cover of the ''Blancanieves'' DVD, there is text that reads, "They never told you the story like this before ..." emphasizing the idea that this interpretation is different from the others. While the silent, black and white aesthetic was applied to the film as an homage to films from the 20th century, it additionally used modern techniques to give the film a unique look. The

cinematic techniques This article contains a list of cinematic techniques that are divided into categories and briefly described. Basic definitions of terms ;180-degree rule :A continuity editorial technique in which sequential shots of two or more actors within ...

and style included depth throughout many shots. The styling of each shot provides a dynamic effect on the visuals in the film. Techniques like this were not possible during the time when

silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

s were popular. The film works to address and include various technologies throughout the past century. While the camera work and aspects of the picture are modern, there are also techniques and styles used that reflect film from the 20th century. 2012 saw the screening of two other loose adaptations of ''Snow White'': '' Mirror, Mirror'' and ''

Snow White and the Huntsman ''Snow White & the Huntsman'' is a 2012 American fantasy film, fantasy action film, action-adventure film, adventure film based on the German fairy tale "Snow White" compiled by the Brothers Grimm. Produced by Roth/Kirschenbaum Films, Roth Films ...

Reception

On review aggregator

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, ''Blancanieves'' holds an approval rating of 95%, based on 112 reviews, and an average rating of 7.8/10. Its consensus reads: "Smartly written and beautiful to behold, ''Blancanieves'' uses its classic source material to offer a dark tale, delightfully told." On

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, the film has a weighted average score of 82 out of 100, based on 21 critics, indicating "Universal acclaim". ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

Peter Bradshaw Peter Nicholas Bradshaw (born 19 June 1962) is a British writer and film critic. He has been chief film critic at ''The Guardian'' since 1999, and is a contributing editor at ''Esquire'' magazine. Early life and education Bradshaw was educat ...

called it "extraordinarily enjoyable", awarding it five stars out of five and saying Pablo Berger "finds new life and heart in the old myth – certainly more than the recent Hollywood retreads – and daringly locates possibilities for both evil and romance in the ranks of the dwarves themselves"; the director "takes inspiration from Hitchcock, with hints of ''

Rebecca Rebecca () appears in the Hebrew Bible as the wife of Isaac and the mother of Jacob and Esau. According to biblical tradition, Rebecca's father was Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram, also called Aram-Naharaim. Rebecca's brother was Laban (Bi ...

'' and '' Psycho'', Buñuel, Browning and Almodóvar, and conjures a fascinatingly ambiguous ending: melancholy, eerie and erotic. A film to treasure." Pablo Berger Press Panel

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...

'' film critic

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...

gave the film four out of four stars, writing that the film "Is a full-bodied silent film of the sort that might have been made by the greatest directors of the 1920s, if such details as the kinky sadomasochism of this film's evil stepmother could have been slipped past the censors." Later, he chose it to be shown at the 2013 Roger Ebert's Overlooked Film Festival. The film, while resembling styles of the 20th century, focused on the story of a female lead. The main character's name,

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the O ...

, emphasizes the importance of the character's divinity, as it means "song" or "garden". However, she fits into the mold of traditional beauty standards set up for women, which have been present since much earlier than just films in the 20th century. This form of representation is often critiqued, as are minimal forms of diversity represented, yet they still adhere to most traditional beauty norms.

Accolades

, - , align = "center" rowspan = "2" , 2012 , , rowspan = "2" , 60th

, , colspan = "2" , Special Jury Prize , , , , rowspan = "2" , , - , Silver Shell for Best Actress , , Macarena García , , , - , align = "center" rowspan = "47" , 2013 , , rowspan = "3" , 18th Forqué Awards , , colspan = "2" , Best Film , , , , rowspan = "3" , , - , rowspan = "2" , Best Actress , , Maribel Verdú , , , - , Macarena García , , , - , rowspan = 12, 5th

Gaudí Awards The Gaudí Awards () are the main film awards of Catalonia, celebrated annually in Barcelona. The awards were established in 2009 by the Catalan Film Academy as a continuation and expansion of the Barcelona Cinema Awards (''Premis Barcelona de Ci ...

, colspan = 2, Best Film , , - , Best Director , Pablo Berger , , - , Best Screenplay , Pablo Berger , , - , rowspan = 2 , Best Female Lead , Ángela Molina , , - , Maribel Verdú , , - , Best Cinematography , Kiko de la Rica , , - , Best Art Direction , Alain Bainée , , - , Best Costume Design , Paco Delgado , , - , Best Film Editing , Fernando Franco , , - , Best Make-Up and Hairstyles , Fermín Galán, Sylvie Imbert , , - , Best Original Score , Alfonso de Villalonga , , - , Best Special/Visual Effects , Reyes Abades, Ferrán Piquer , , - , rowspan=3, Latin ACE Awards , colspan=2, Best Film , , rowspan = "3" , , - , Best Actress , Maribel Verdú , , - , Best Supporting Actor , Daniel Giménez Cacho , , - , rowspan=18 , 27th Goya Awards , colspan=2 , Best Film , , rowspan = "18" , , - , Best Director , Pablo Berger , , - , Best Actor , Daniel Giménez Cacho , , - , Best Actress , Maribel Verdú , , - , Best Supporting Actor , Josep Maria Pou , , - , Best Supporting Actress , Ángela Molina , , - , Best New Actor , Emilio Gavira , , - , Best New Actress , Macarena García , , - ,

Best Original Screenplay The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay is the Academy Award (also known as an Oscar) for the best screenplay not based upon previously published material. It was created in 1940 as a separate writing award from the Academy Award for Best ...

, Pablo Berger , , - , Best Cinematography , Kiko de la Rica , , - , Best Editing , Fernando Franco , , - , Best Art Direction , Alain Bainée , , - , Best Production Supervision , Josep Amorós , , - , Best Special Effects , Reyes Abades, Ferrán Piquer , , - , Best Costume Design , Paco Delgado , , - , Best Makeup and Hairstyles , Sylvie Imbert, Fermín Galán , , - , Best Original Score , Alfonso de Villalonga , , - , Best Original Song , "No te puedo encontrar" by Pablo Berger and Juan Gómez "Chicuelo" , , - , 55th Ariel Awards , Best Ibero-American Film , Pablo Berger , , , - , rowspan = "6" , 22nd Actors and Actresses Union Awards , Best Film Actress in a Leading Role , , Maribel Verdú , , , , rowspan = "6" , , - , Best Film Actor in a Leading Role , , Daniel Giménez Cacho , , , - , Best Film Actress in a Secondary Role , , Ángela Molina , , , - , Best Film Actress in a Minor Role , , Inma Cuesta , , , - , rowspan = "2" , Best Film Actor in a Minor Role , , Ramón Barea , , , - , Pere Ponce , , , - , rowspan = "3" , 26th European Film Awards , , colspan=2 , Best Film , , rowspaN = "3" , , - , Best Director , Pablo Berger , , - , Best Costume Designer , Paco Delgado , , - , 26th Chicago Film Critics Association Awards , Best Original Score , Alfonso de Villalonga , , - , rowspan = "3" align = "center" , 2014 , , 14th Vancouver Film Critics Circle Awards , colspan=2, Best Foreign Language Film , , - , 39th César Awards , colspan = "2" , Best Foreign Film , , - , 40th Saturn Awards , colspan="2" , Best International Film , , - , align = "center" , 2015 , , Argentinean Film Critics Association Awards , Best Ibero-American Film , Pablo Berger ,

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Blancanieves 2012 films 2012 drama films 2010s Spanish-language films Spanish black-and-white films Films set in the 1920s Films based on Snow White Bullfighting films Best Film Goya Award winners Silent Spanish drama films French drama films 2010s Spanish films 2010s French films