Fairytale

Italian filmmaker Sebastiano Mauri's surrealistic Fairytale, an adaptation of husband Filippo Timi's play, recreates the world of post-war Technicolor melodramas, except everything is topsy-turvy. Timi plays Mrs. Fairytale as a model American homemaker who lives in a house so stylized that it resembles a dollhouse and speaks to her stuffed poodle, Lady, as if she were alive (Alessia Anfuso provided the Pee-Wee's Playhouse-like set design). Sometimes, the world outside her windows looks like a city, sometimes like a desert. At one point, she imagines that it's filled with partygoers even though she's all alone. When her friend, Mrs. Emerald (Lucia Mascino), brings up the fact that Mrs. Fairytale's husband, Stan (Luca Santagostino, rarely seen), hits her, she doesn't deny it, but nor does she express any desire to leave. As the film opens, she's just found out she's pregnant, and believes her life couldn't be more perfect. From time to time, she receives visits from one of the Stuart triplets (all played by Sergio Albelli), three young men who help her out with household chores. They also spike her drinks with psychedelics, for no apparent reason, other than to explain why she keeps having strange visions. As the intentionally unbelievable plot unfolds, much as in a telenovela, Mrs. Emerald finds out that her husband has been cheating on her, drawing her even closer to her only confidant, Mrs. Fairytale. Mrs. Fairytale soon finds her life changing in ways that recall Sally Potter's adaptation of Virginia Woolf's Orlando. Though surrealism in the cinema (and on the TV) often brings Luis Buñuel and David Lynch to mind, the color-saturated results here play more like Pedro Almodóvar or Derek Jarman as Timi and Mauri play with gender, sexual orientation, and the upending of societal norms. It doesn't all work, or even make complete sense, but it's always fun to look at. Costume designer Fabio Zambernardi, design director at Italian fashion house Prada, really goes for broke with his patterned, sequined, and brooch-embellished outfits. At the very least, Fairytale offers a unique aesthetic experience. A strong optional purchase. Aud: C,P (K. Fennessy)