The Brothers Grimm (2005)

Director:

Terry Gilliam

Writer (WGA):

Ehren Kruger (written by)

Release Date:

26 August 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Fantasy | Thriller

Tagline:

Eliminating Evil Since 1812

Plot:

Will and Jake Grimm are travelling con-artists who encounter a genuine fairy-tale curse which requires genuine courage instead of their usual bogus exorcisms.

Plot Keywords:

Village | Curse | Forest | Con Artist | Creature

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Petr Ratimec	...	Young Will
Barbora Lukesová	...	Mother Grimm (as Barbara Lukesova)
Anna Rust	...	Sister Grimm
Jeremy Robson	...	Young Jacob
Matt Damon	...	Wilhelm Grimm
Heath Ledger	...	Jacob Grimm
Radim Kalvoda	...	Gendarme
Martin Hofmann	...	Gendarme
Josef Pepa Nos	...	German War Veteran
Harry Gilliam	...	Stable Boy
Miroslav Táborský	...	Old Miller
Roger Ashton-Griffiths	...	Mayor
Marika Sarah Procházková	...	Miller's Daughter (as Marika Prochazkova)
Mackenzie Crook	...	Hidlick
Richard Ridings	...	Bunst

Also Known As:

El secreto de los hermanos Grimm (Spain) (Spain: Castilian title) [es]
Les frères Grimm (Canada: French title) (France) [fr]
Los hermanos Grimm (Argentina) (Venezuela) [es]
Os irmãos Grimm (Brazil) (festival title) (Portugal) [pt]
Братья Гримм (Russia) [ru]
Çilgin kardesler (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Bröderna Grimm (Sweden) [sv]
Brothers Grimm (Germany) (TV title) [de]
El secret dels germans Grimm (Spain: Catalan title) [ca]
Grimmin veljekset (Finland) [fi]
I fratelli Grimm e l'incantevole strega (Italy) [it]
Nieustraszeni bracia Grimm (Poland) [pl]
Oi adelfoi Grimm (Greece) [el]

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for violence, frightening sequences and brief suggestive material.

Runtime:

118 min

Country:

UK | Czech Republic | USA

Language:

English | French | German | Italian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Netherlands:12 | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Australia:M | Hong Kong:IIB | Finland:K-11 | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Nova Scotia) | UK:12A | Ireland:12A | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Philippines:PG-13 | Norway:11 | Brazil:14 | Germany:12 | Sweden:11 | Belgium:KT | Slovakia:12 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Zurich) | Argentina:13 | Malaysia:U | Hungary:16 | Iceland:12 | South Korea:15 | Portugal:M/12 | Czech Republic:12 | USA:PG-13 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Ledec nad Sázavou, Czech Republic

Company:

Dimension Films

Trivia:

Johnny Depp was originally set to star as Will Grimm.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Jake launches himself toward the tower, the stretch on his trousers and shirt where the wires are attached is visible as he falls.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Sister Grimm: Mama, it's so cold.
Mother Grimm: It's very, very cold. Will. Put another log on the fire, lad.
Young Will: There isn't any more firewood, mama.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Troldspejlet: (#34.6)" (2005)

Soundtrack:

Waltz #15 in A flat major ('Lullaby'), Op.39

Watered-Down Gilliam Is Better Than No Gilliam

Rather than fight yet another war with Hollywood (see: "Brazil", "The Adventures of Baron Munchausen", and "The Man Who Killed Don Quixote"), Terry Gilliam took off his gloves and allowed the Weinsteins and Miramax to force their will upon him. With his new film "Tideland" coming out soon, Gilliam chose to focus his efforts on molding it, while allowing "The Brothers Grimm" to go wherever the studio wanted to take it. The result is by far the most commercial film to Gilliam's name, but in this case watered-down Gilliam is better than no Gilliam, and his first film in seven years ("Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" in 1998) is a fun one.

"The Brothers Grimm" certainly looks like a Terry Gilliam movie, loaded with extravagant visuals and wide angled shots, although the $80 million budget did allow for his first use of CGI (it really isn't too bad, though), and it does not have the incredibly surreal feeling to it that most Gilliam films have. It takes a bit of time to get used to Matt Damon (as Will Grimm) and Heath Ledger, moreso Damon, as Ledger is surprisingly good as Jacob Grimm. The film was much more humorous than I had expected, and has plenty of subtle Gilliam humor. Many will find Peter Stormare' Cavaldi character to be extremely annoying, but I thought he was hilarious, and one of the highlights of the movie. Jonathan Pryce returns to another Gilliam movie as Delatombe, and does a decent job, although his character was a little overly obnoxious at times. Lena Headey is good as Angelika, and Monica Bellucci also pulls off a good performance, although unfortunately she does not get a significant amount of screen time.

The plot of "The Brothers Grimm" wanders a lot, and I actually thought the movie was winding down at around the 90 minute mark, but this works somewhat to the film's advantage, as it makes a fairly straightforward plot seem slightly less predictable. The film is much sillier than the promos may lead to believe, and that probably will not come us much of a surprise to big Gilliam fans. Unlike previous Gilliam movies, however, there really is no substance behind what we see on screen, so what we get is really the first 'popcorn flick' with Gilliam's name on it. Like all Terry Gilliam movies, the reaction will be mixed, and there will be some people who absolutely love it, and some who name it their worst film of the year. As far as I'm concerned, "Grimm" does not hold a candle to Terry Gilliam's previous films, but it is one of the better 'big summer movies', and I certainly felt my time was well spent watching it.

3 stars (out of 4)