Fairy Tale - A True Story
by Charles Sturridge
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DVD details
Actor: Elizabeth Earl, Florence Hoath, Harvey Keitel, Jason Salkey, Paul McGannDirector: Charles Sturridge
Brand: O'TOOLE,PETER
Producer: Albert Ash
Writer: Albert Ash
Producer: Bruce Davey
Producer: Margaret French-Isaac
Producer: Paul Tucker
Writer: Ernie Contreras
Writer: Tom McLoughlin
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; French (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
Running Time: 99 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2003-11-11
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Paramount
DVD Reviews of Fairy Tale - A True Story
DVD Review: Highly Recommended
Summary: 5 Stars
"Masters of illusion never reveal their secrets" says Harry Houdini (Harvey Keitel) in the lyrical fantasy ''Fairytale--A True Story'' (1997). And pay attention to the things Houdini says like: "Never try to fool children. They expect nothing and therefore see everything", because his character exists to articulate the film's themes. These revolve around the need for many people to believe in the existence of spiritual concepts, the wisdom of not challenging these beliefs if they give sustenance, and how loss of the ability to see much that is hidden goes along with our loss of innocence. The innocence is stressed early in the film when an 8 year-old girl seeks out a horribly scarred veteran on the train and gets "her corporal's" help to play a game of cat's cradle.
In its best montage the film moves between, Houdini's fabled "The Chinese Water Torture Cell" illusion, a chess match, and the first-hand spiritual education of an investigative reporter.
The film loosely documents the "Cottingley fairies" incident in 1917 when two English girls produced photographs that showed themselves in the presence of fairies. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (insert Sherlock Holmes here) published the photographs when he and various experts became convinced they were authentic. Many years later the girls would confess that they had faked all but one of the photos, but they continued to claim that their fairies actually exist.
12-year-old Elsie Wright (Florence Hoath) and 8-year-old Frances Griffiths (Elizabeth Earl) are the girls. It is late in WW1 and Francis has come to live with her Aunt and Uncle because her father is missing in action on the front lines. The Wright's too are dealing with a recent loss as Elsie's brother has passed away. So both children and Mrs. Wright (Phoebe Nicholls) are primed for belief in the other world.
Yes there are fairies, the viewer sees them when no people are around and we see them leaving the area when Doyle's revelations cause the property to be trampled by a hoard of both believers and skeptics.
The production design and the special effects are impressive and the film is absorbing from scene to scene. The target audience is a little hard to pin down as the subject is geared to children but much of the story a bit confusing if you are not already familiar with historical figures like Houdini and Doyle. The film utilizes the tried and true device for connecting with children by giving them a story about young people who know stuff is real, even though adults don't get it.
In the film the age gap between the two girls is slightly less than it was in real life, which gives their relationship a bit more believability. Even more impressive is how successful the director was in the subtle creation of two very distinct personalities. Elsie is shy and artistic. Frances is confident and social. Their interplay is the film's real strength; apparently the director sensed this dynamic and worked very hard in his acting for the camera direction of the two young actresses. He kept them in character and added behavioral elements they give their characters considerable depth and dimensionality.
Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.
Description of Fairy Tale - A True Story
In the midst of World War I, two little English girls breathe some mystery, magic and belief into people's lives when they take pictures of fairies.Genre: Feature Film Family
Rating: PG
Release Date: 7-MAR-2006
Media Type: DVD
When her father is declared missing in action during World War I, Elsie Wrigth (Florence Hoath) goes to live in England with her cousin Frances Griffiths (Elizabeth Earl) for whom the topic of fairies is forbidden. Immediately, the girls discover the winged creatures in the garden and photograph them for Frances's startled parents. This leads to another kind of adventure for the girls. They become the toasts of London as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Peter O'Toole) and Harry Houdini (Harvey Keitel), who have seen the photographs, escort them around town. Mildly villainous reporters chase the girls and curious spectators invade their garden after the pictures are printed publicly.
Although fairies are the visible subjects, the enchanting video is really about faith. Frances's parents (Phoebe Nicholls and Paul McGann) recently lost their son, Joseph, who had originally discovered the fairies and would like to think he may be an angel. Sir Arthur also lost his son and is courted by clairvoyants who claim they can talk to the boy. Elsie waits patiently for her father to come home, although it appears hopeless that he will. Harry Houdini is an illusionist but acts against the fraudulent claims of greedy mediums and the like. They are all touched by a need to truly believe in what remains hidden. The story is very loosely based on an early 20th-century controversy involving the real Frances and Elsie who faked pictures of fairies similar to the ones in the video. The real girls never confessed, but the video suggests the manner in which the real life photos may have been produced. --Margaret Griffis
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