Pinocchio (2019)

Wow! A Pinocchio like you have never seen, as Garrone's take on ancient fables, like his previous Tale of the Tales demonstrates, is to recover from them the original adult, dark, grotesque and disturbing aspects and to retelling it with his very distinctive style.

Visually beautiful, everything in the movie is top notch, from the beautiful cinematography to the great score of Academy Award winner Marianelli, from the elaborate costumes to the excellent sets, which really look autenthically 1800s. Special mention to the real special effects of the movie, the stunning make-up by Academy Award winner Mark Coulier.

Roberto Benigni, who had been a terrible Pinocchio in the infamous 2000s bomb, does his best performance since La Vita è Bella as a credible, tender, poetic Geppetto. The rest of the cast is also very good.

Fmovies: No film is perfect, but this one definitely deserves its score to be raised! Terrific, magical storytelling, that's a wonderful breath of fresh air from the modern, spoon-fed form. The prosthetics and costumes were wonderful and so was the cinematography. It may not be the literal translation of the book, but that's not the main thing to focus on or the actual purpose of the film. Magic.

Masterpiece and pride of Italian literature in the best possible representation in the hands of the master Matteo Garrone who after Dogman manages to recreate with dignity respect a fairy tale of the past filled with good feelings. Wonderful cast and just to name one, in Geppetto's shoes there is that monster of Benigni's skill who, with a reinterpretation of Pinocchio in 2002, must one of the lowest points of his career and does not make Geppetto of Manfredi regret in the least ... Cinema with a capital C that exudes theatricality in every scene accompanied by a work of Oscar-like makeup as well as the truly noteworthy special effects. In short, in my opinion a film to see and review with your children. Straconsigliato. Vote for me: 8

Pinocchio fmovies. Pinocchio fascinates filmmakers. The first atru to bring to screen Carlo Collodi's novel took place in 1936, as an animated feature, in Italy, but the first to complete the project were Walt Disney and his colleagues in 1940. Another 20 films followed, animated or with actors. The 2019 version directed by Matteo Garrone is the most recent, being released at the end of 2019. Its international distribution was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The next remake is already in preparation. Until then, audiences around the world are waiting to watch the 2019 edition of 'Pinocchio' - a film with many qualities but which will certainly not be the ultimate big screens version of the story of carpenter Geppetto and of his wooden-made son.

There are at least two possible readings of Pinocchio's story. The first is the moralistic reading that includes a few lessons that we would like to make sure as parents that they are well assimilated by our children. Attachment to parents, discipline, desire to learn, the need for tenderness - all these positive paternal values are transmitted through the elements of the fairy tale. I will call the second reading the transcendental one - it is about the desire of the animated piece of wood, carved in a talking doll by Geppetto, to become human, aspiring to the normality of a childhood like all children enjoy. Between the two feelings of Pinoccho the writer interposed the character of the fairy who appears in the key moments and who shows Pinocchio the road towards fulfilling the dream, a path that requires earning the discipline and the strength necessary to overcome all adversity. Good childhood lessons are eternal and apply at any age.

Matteo Garrone's filmography combines courageous social films related to today's realities of Italy with the exploration of classic and fantastic literature created (also) for children. 'Pinocchio' obviously belongs to the second category, but what surprised me a little is the flatness of the approach. The film looks great visually. Technology-wise this recent 'Pinocchio' is an achievement. The make-up is masterful, the costumes are very appropriate, the sets combine with elegance historical accuracy with fantastic touches, because after all we are in a fairy tale. The camera allows itself from time to time angles that reminded me of the 'Wizard of Oz'. Roberto Benigni plays an excellent role in his second 'Pinocchio', after the first one, not very successful, in 2002 in which he had assumed both film direction and the titular role. Now he has advanced in age and was promoted to make a wonderfully disturbing Geppetto. Pinocchio is played by Federico Ielapi, an 8-9 year old boy, whose make-up left only his eyes to express the range of emotions of the wooden doll who dreams of becoming a child like all the other. However, the impressive production cannot completely cover the lack of emotion or daring that would have made this 'Pinocchio' a memorable film. Lasting two hours, the film risks getting its children audiences get tired and lose focus. The mature audiences will not find enough substance to justify the effort of watching beyond the duty to accompany children or grandchildren to the cinema theaters. This 'Pinocchio' is interesting in many ways but it could have been more. The next occasion will be the animated remake of the 1940 production which is now in preparation at the Disney Studios.

Who knows Matteo Garrone, knows the boldness of this man in conceiving old and new stories according to his style, his vision, his creativity. Pinocchio by Matteo Garrone offers a new, albeit yet another, vision of the famous wooden puppet created by the brilliant Carlo Collodi, an entirely Italian history with a vast resonance all over the world over the years, making Pinocchio one of those stories to be repeated and preserved and here, Garrone, succeeds. The film has many strengths, starting from the Oscar-winning Roberto Benigni (already seen as Pinocchio himself in the past) which this time portrays Geppetto and perhaps is to be counted as the greatest interpretation ever since the days of the good Nino Manfredi's one, as well as the little Federico Ielapi, who with his little genius entertains and makes himself loved from the public as did the famous Disney's Pinocchio. Spectacular CGI, not always purely-perfect, but daring, courageous, high quality for an Italy-France-Great Britain production, where, unfortunately, you do not always have the pleasure of tasting the genius of these nations in this field; perfect makeups, which do not even envy Hollywood's ones and in some ways can be placed in the "old-school" class, simply to say that they are materially splendid, especially, for the first time ever, in seeing an actor in flesh and blood becoming a wooden puppet. Powerful sound sector, with a scrupulous attention to detail, especially from the point of view of the soundtrack composed by Dario Marianelli, which enhances every single scene and line of the screenplay, as well as the cinematography of Nicolaj Brüel that fully marries Garrone's imagination and style, making unique the view of the picture. The only flaw, maybe, is the too much haste to present some crucial scenes, almost as if to say "you already know what's gonna be". In conclusion, Pinocchio is a spectacular film, expected and appreciated, thanks to the brilliant mind of Matteo Garrone who marries perfectly with the rest of the crew. A true, honest and definitely to appreciate Pinocchio in the years to come.

This was a really precious movie. The setting, the story, the characters, the magic... Benigni doesn't appear a lot, but it is perfect every time you see him. Just one thing, it is the ORIGINAL story, don't expect a disney film made for 4 yo children, or a remake of the disney one. 9/10