Grimm (2003) Reviews

• Pretty, but doesn't have much substance

  daliso_leslie2007-06-30

  This film has a rather impressive billing, with the version I rented stated "siblings Jacob and Marie embark on a surreal, often night-marrish odyssey." The movie starts out Hansel and Gretel-esquire in that regard, but doesn't move much further. There is a journey to be had, if one is interested in following two characters whom they know little about through different cities where they meet different people. The meetings have very little value to them, however, and the characters often meet conflict that is unexplained. Furthermore, movement between locales is poorly motivated and a unified agenda never sets imposes itself. If these meetings were accompanied by the surrealism that the movie billing suggests, I could have still walked away happily, but unfortunately the surrealism in the meetings is itself limited because much of what could have made a scene eerie is left unaddressed. As far as the comedy, the movie fails to win stars in that department as well. There are two or three hilarious encounters, but most of the comedy is a sort of "why would anybody do that" type of humor. Suits some, obviously. On the whole, the film is built for people with short memory spans, as segments really don't have any connection to each other. This fact is acceptable for the first 40 minutes, but by the 41st, you will certainly ask yourself why you are still watching, hoping that something relevant will occur. I cannot totally smash the movie, however, as the colors were quite vibrant and the journey itself is something that certain watchers might find interesting in its own right. Also, it must be said that Halina Reijn, the lead female, is exciting to watch. Her facial expressions, her candor in front of camera. Of course, she's beautiful. I should also mention that a greater understanding of the Brothers Grimm and their folk tales might lend itself to a greater appreciation of the film. It was clear that this was the case with the 2005 Matt Damon film, but with this one, it is less obvious whether a greater understanding of the tales would make Grimm better. If you're going to watch it, make sure you school yourself on the back story (the Brother's Grimm tales).

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• Dark fairytale

  stensson2004-08-07

  This is about a passionate loving couple, being brother and sister. It is definitely incestous and rivals of different kinds are killed. It's absurd, it's a little Bunuel sometimes and mostly funny. Probably this is supposed to be a modern Grimm tale, but including sex. There are no real human beings here, like in Grimm. Like Hansel and Gretl, the brother and sister are alone in the world, with no parents to lean on. They leave Holland and come to a strange dreamlike Spain, where they meet another brother and sister, evil and crazy. There certainly are scenes here you will remember, but most of all you will remember the dark humour, which makes you laugh at totally wrong places.

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• A Story Loosely Based On Hansel & Gretel (So Loose I Would Not Have Known It Had I Not Been Told)

  BigHardcoreRed2005-10-17

  As mentioned in the title, Grimm is, what I hear, based on the fairy tale of Hansel & Gretel. That sounded good but the movie I watched really had nothing to do with the story I knew. What we get is a decent, yet dark, movie that had some amusing moments. Maria (Halina Reijn) and Jacob (Jacob Derwig) are an adult brother and sister who appears to have a sexual relationship as well. Gotta love the Dutch movie makers. Anyhow, Maria and Jacob are abandoned in the woods early on in the movie by their parents because they could no longer afford to take care of them. After the realization of their abandonment, they calm down and find a note from their mother in Maria's pocket. The note tells them to go to Spain and find their uncle who would be able to take care of them. After a rough trip, they arrive at the address to find their uncle has died, which leaves them with nowhere to go. As you could probably guess, the siblings take to a life of vagrancy & crime to survive until Maria meets Diego (Carmelo Gómez), who kindly takes them in. At this point in the movie, you know that nothing good will ever happen to Maria & Jacob so Diego can't be good. That seems to be the theme of the movie. I do not think they find one person who actually helps them out in the movie. Possibly, this is the resemblance to the fairy tale but, in all honesty, it does not seem similar at all to me, with minor exceptions of being lost in a forest, running into evil people, etc. Overall, it was a decent movie that I felt could have done without the Hansel & Gretel connection. However, I surely would not have been as interested if they did not make that connection. It is what intrigued me to begin with, I suppose, but it is not what held my attention. The dark and sometimes humorous scenes are what kept me watching. This was not as good as I expected, however, I have spent my time in worse ways and on worse movies in the past. 6/10

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• My brief review of the film

  sol-2005-11-10

  Grimm or Grim? The film starts off as a homage to 'Hansel and Gretal', the Brothers Grimm's popular tale, however in the end the film spirals out in a completely different direction to their story, with many bizarre events along the way. The one constant element in the film however is grimness, which almost is cause to wonder whether the filmmakers were having a little pun with the title, except there is no English at all during the film. The best part of it is almost certainly its unpredictability. The film often defies logic, and makes no sense at all more often than not. While it is not all that satisfying to watch illogical events, the film is somewhat intriguing since anything can happen. It has a dark sense of humour at times too, and strange sexual elements are worked into it. Ultimately, the film is too meandering and the point of it all is hard to grasp. It is often repulsive, the characters are not developed so that they can be easily liked, and the hybridisation of the crime, horror, fantasy and western genres tends to jar an already awkward narrative. There are interesting elements at hand here, and a pulsating music soundtrack helps too. It is quite unusual stuff, however it is actually a good film? It is hard to say.

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• Mysterious, exciting, compelling

  Josine2004-03-17

  This is a story about a brother and a sister going on a journey together, because their parents didn't have money to support them anymore. Where the movie is about a journey, the movie itself is like a journey too, where the viewer constantly falls into amazement, excitement, recognition, and sometimes a laughing fit. Its a surreal story that starts of exactly the same as Hansel and Grettel, but where you expect the brother and sister to find a house of candy, the movie takes a totally different turn, and goes on like that. Every time you think you know whats going to happen, its like the director says "ha ha, but I'm not that predictable" and sticking out his tong to you. This keeps the movie exciting and exhilarating till the end. I sincerely enjoyed this movie, its one of those movies that you recommend so often and much to other people that they'll hate you for it! 9/10

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