Tale of Tales Teaser Is Gory and Gorgeous

The nearly dialogue-free teaser for Matteo Garrone’s The Tale of Tales pits provocative fairy-tale images against Fauré’s lovely “The Pavane in F-sharp minor, Op. 50,” suggesting a film of wonder and awe and abundant horrors.

Instead of telling us anything about the tale, loosely based on Giambattista Basile’s 17th-century collection of stories, the teaser presents a series of enigmatic, unrelated images both beautiful and brutal: blood-blotched organs and elegant gowns; Selma Hayek eating the heart of a felled beast; John C. Reilly gritting his teeth and smiling with his innards strewn about; Toby Jones petting a weird, rhino-esque animal; and Vincent Cassel in the waning moments of a bacchanal. If Snow White and the Huntsman was too soft for you, this might do the trick.

Garrone, best known Stateside for his 2008 mafia movie Gomorra, has twice won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival. The Tale of Tales, Garrone’s first English-language film, will compete for the Palme d’Or at this year’s Cannes.

Tale of Tales Teaser Is Gory and Gorgeous