Gretel and Hansel

The Grimm fairy tales tell us of steps that people take to survive when they are in need. Many of us in modern America are so far removed from the real pressures of want and need and deprivation that led the people in the stories to do what they do that it’s hard to comprehend the desperation that motivates the characters. The new film “Gretel and Hansel” makes that desolation clear.

The familiar fairy tale is the story of a brother and sister whose mother can no longer support them, the siblings are cast out into the woods in search of a better future. They are desperate.

Soon they stumble across the house where food is plentiful, the beds are good for sleeping and there isn’t a lot of grinding manual labor. Given the title, we know things are not as they seem.

This version of the tale also puts the experience of Gretal at the forefront of the story,

While this film was made for a younger audience –note the PG 13 rating–it’s spooky and disorienting and enchanting enough to keep adults in suspense.

From the press release:

From Osgood “Oz” Perkins, the director of The Blackcoat’s Daughter and I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House, the film stars Sophia Lillis (It, HBO’s Sharp Objects), newcomer Sammy Leakey, Alice Krige (Amazon’s Carnival Row, Netflix’s The OA), Jessica De Gouw (WGN’s Underground, The CW’s Arrow) and Charles Babalola (Netflix’s Black Mirror, The Legend of Tarzan).