Tales of the Night ~ Art Cinema
Fantasy, Animation, Family
French/PG/86 min.
Renowned animation auteur Michel Ocelot's hit Tales of the Night extends the earlier shadow puppet style of Ocelot's Princes and Princesses, with black silhouetted characters set off against exquisitely detailed Day-Glo backgrounds bursting with color and kaleidoscopic patterns. The film weaves together six exotic fables each unfolding in a unique locale, from Tibet, to medieval Europe, an Aztec kingdom, the African plains, and even the Land of the Dead. In Ocelot's storytelling, history blends with fairytale as viewers are whisked off to enchanted lands full of dragons, werewolves, captive princesses, sorcerers, and enormous talking bees - and each fable ends with its own ironic twist.
"Ocelot's creation is like nothing else they are likely to see animating the multiplex." - Farran Smith Nehme, New York Post
"The narratives — involving princesses, sorcerers, dragons, talking animals — are familiar. But Mr. Ocelot invigorates them with lyricism: silhouettes evoke shadow plays, and often brilliant palettes reflect the cultures presented. His gentle sensibility yields abundant pleasures by itself."- Andy Webster, New York Times
