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Three Wishes for Cinderella
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It's a Small World, After All
Three Wishes for Cinderella
Unrated
1973, Facets
Italian comic Roberto Benigni's new version of Pinocchio was a box-office hit in his native Italy last year. Its recent release in the United States is a sadder story. One of the most extravagant films ever produced in Italy, Pinocchio was dubbed and re-cut by its U.S. distributor, Miramax Films. The thought was that American kids wouldn't sit through a foreign-language movie with subtitles. It's hard to know otherwise, since most foreign-made family films -- from cartoon favorites like the Pokémon series to Hayao Miyazaki's rich animated fairy tale Spirited Away -- arrive in U.S. theaters dubbed in English. The way I see it, an engaging family film will hold a child's attention no matter what language is spoken.
Czech director Vaclav Vorlicek's Three Wishes for Cinderella (Tri Orisky Pro Popelku), a lively twist on the popular fairy tale, loses none of its sparkle due to its Czech dialogue. In fact, I'd argue that the film's Czech characters match perfectly with its snowcapped, rural locale, including the beautiful Castle Moritzburg, and period costumes. Three Wishes for Cinderella is exotic in a warmhearted, storybook way, and that's exactly what we want from a movie fairytale.
Actress Libus Safrankova makes a pretty Cinderella with her shoulder-length brown hair, round face and warm smile. She performs her Cinderella duties believably, washing clothes in an ice-cold creek and scrubbing her stepmother's house until her cheeks and forehead are smeared with ashes. It's what we've come to expect from Cinderella, a story that's been part of our lives for ever.
What's remarkable about Three Wishes for Cinderella is how Vorlicek, who directed more than 30 children's films at Prague's Barrandov Film Studios, manages to make the story fresh. Screenwriter Frantisek Pavlicek updates it with a welcome jolt of modern-day feminism -- Safrankova plays Clinderella as a pretty tomboy who can shoot arrows, ride horses and climb trees better than most men. She's smart, feisty and self-confident, and her charismatic spark keeps the handsome Prince (Pavel Travnicek) on his best behavior and the movie moving at a fast clip.
The three wishes in the film's title refer to three magic hazelnuts that Cinderella uses to get to the Prince's ball. Her final wish is for a sparkling wedding dress. Let's just say that this Cinderella film isn't so progressive so to deny its heroine a happy ending.
Three Wishes for Cinderella grade: B.
And the rest
Three of Latin America's most acclaimed novelists -- Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Carlos Fuentes and Juan Rulfo -- collaborated on the script for Mexican director Roberto Gavaldón's classic 1964 film El Gallo de Oro (Facets). In the film, a humble town crier (Ignacio Lopez Tarso) adopts a badly injured rooster and nurses it back to health. After the cockerel begins winning fights and earning money, the town crier believes he's finally gained respectability until he learns a valuable lesson about true happiness. Gavaldón makes full use of the film's beautiful color photography and rich Mexican village setting, especially the allure of cockfighting. Still, it's veteran Lopez Tarzo's heartfelt performance that's the soul of the film.
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