FairyTale--A True Story

The title, you should know, is a damnable lie: this story isn't "true" at all, and that's the problem. What is true about it is the palpable yearning that emanates from its characters, most of whom desperately want to believe that a group of fairies allegedly photographed by two little girls are real...because the existence of fairies would constitute proof of magic, and the existence of magic offers hope to a country beleaguered by war (the year is 1917). Unfortunately, the film unequivocally declares that the fairies were real, while also hinting at what we now know to be true: that the girls faked the pictures. So would the film be more effective if it were called simply FairyTale, sans the subtitle? No--it would be more effective if it were canny enough to offer us the possibility that the girls faked photos of fairies because they couldn't capture the real ones on film (much as the L.A.P.D. probably planted evidence to frame a guilty O.J.). Instead, it flits computer-animated fairies in our faces...and where's the wonder in that? Optional. (M. D'Angelo)[DVD Review--Nov. 18, 2003--Paramount, 97 min., PG, $19.99--Making its debut on DVD, the 1997 FairyTale boasts a sharp, colorful, vibrant widescreen transfer, and a solid Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, but no extras. Bottom line: nice-looking; worth considering for larger collections.]