Pinocchio (2019)

Based on the classic novel by Carlo Collodi, this film tells the story of poor woodworker Gepetto and the creation of his son, the puppet Pinocchio.

Those of you who have seen the classic animated film made by Walt Disney will recognise many of the elements of the story, but there are several key differences, as this film strictly follows the plot and themes of the novel, some of which were changed in the Disney version.

Gepetto (Roberto Benigni) lives in a small Italian village, where he ekes out a meagre living as a woodcarver. He mostly struggles to make ends meet, but is largely content with his simple existence.

After a puppet troupe comes to town, he becomes fascinated with the intricately carved marionettes, and decides to carve a puppet of his own. He receives a gift of a piece of wood (which he doesn’t realise is enchanted), and sets to work on his masterpiece.

As he works, he notices that the piece of wood on which he is working seems to have a life of its own. By the time he is finished, the wooden boy he has carved is very much alive, with the ability to speak and move on its own.

Pinocchio (Federico Ielapi).

He christens the boy Pinocchio (Federico Ielapi), and introduces him to everyone in town as his son.

But Pinocchio is not what you would call a well-behaved child. Again, those of you who have seen the Disney film – or indeed read the book – will know of his many misadventures as he learns to live as a human: his interactions with “friends” (or rather bad inflences) the Cat (Rocco Papaleo) and the Wolf (Massimo Ceccherini), his repeated mentoring by a Fairy (Marine Vacth), and many others, too numerous to mention here.

I’ll leave the plot description there, as I’m sure many will be quite familiar with the story, but there are a few points I would like to make about this adaptation.

Gepetto (Roberto Benigni) carving Pinocchio.

The screenplay – written by director Matteo Garrone & Massimo Ceccherini (who plays the Wolf) – draws much more heavily on the original source material than the Disney version did, and it shows. The entire film is in Italian – the version I watched had English subtitles, of course – which grounds the story in its true location.

Dario Marianelli’s score is truly inspired. There are two or three themes that repeat throughout – albeit with changing instrumentation each time – which give the film a real sense of unity, and bring the audience back to the heart of the story in an aural sense.

The cinematography – courtesy of Nicolai Brüel – is absolutely stunning. The locations are all beautiful, not only in a scenic sense, but in the way they have been captured on screen. Brüel has such a command of light and dark, shadow and contrast, that the film will continue to serve as a masterclass to any student of cinematography (I know I’ve said this before about other films, but never has it been truer than of this film; the visuals are absolutely stunning).

The Fairy (Marine Vacth).

I was very lucky to be treated to a free private screening of this film – in a cinema – which afforded me the opportunity to laugh, to cry, to gasp and to yell at the screen, without fear of disturbing other people. And I did all of those things…repeatedly. This film will certainly take you on a rollercoaster of emotions, as it did for me.

The performances of the cast are amazing, particularly that of young Federico Ielapi, who plays Pinocchio. I assume that the majority of his performance was filmed using motion capture technology, allowing the visual effects team to animate the character realistically, but nevertheless, the performance we see on screen is very much that of Ielapi himself.

Director Matteo Garrone has made an absolutely beautiful film here. It will be interesting to see if the film is recognised by the Academy when it comes to Oscar season, as it could win awards in several categories in my opinion.

10 out of 10.