CICFF 2011: Tales of the Night

Not to be confused with the recent Chicago International Film Festival, Tales of the Night was one of the programs in the Chicago International CHILDREN'S Film Festival this weekend. This French movie is a compilation of television shorts made into a film through connecting segments of a theatre troupe thinking up story ideas. There are three characters in the troupe, a young man and young woman, who take on the roles of lovers in the folk tales they spin; the other character, an older man, help them form their basic story plots of six folk/fairy tales. The characters are shown in silhouette in front of vividly colored backgrounds. The film was created by Michel Ocelot, whose previous films have similar folk tale themes and visual presence.



The City of Gold
An Aztec city is dependent on a fearsome creature to enrich their town with gold, in exchange for the sacrificed lives of their most beautiful maidens.

The Werewolf
Two sisters vie for the hand of a boy, unknown to them he is a werewolf.  One sister spurns him, the other stands by him.

The Boy Who Never Lies
A boy who never lies is tricked into making a choice between the love of a girl or the life of his beloved talking horse.

Ti Jean and the Girl Who Knows Nothing
A Carribean-themed story of a boy who goes into the underworld to pass tests and win the hand of the underworld king's daughter.

Tom Tom Boy
An African-themed story about a boy who loves playing a magical tom tom with the ability to force everyone to dance. He uses this to bring robust health back to their king and fight against an enemy tribe.

The Doe Girl and the Son of the Architect
A Tibetan-themed story in which a girl is enchanted and turned into an animal, while the son of an architect finds the secret to set her free from her curse.

While the films are visually striking and vividly colored, I found the endings of the stories often weak and not well-realized/ended. They do all have the proper feel of old folk tales or fairy tales--sorcery, quests, winning the hands of maidens after tests of manhood. The voice and character acting is befitting the characters in the tales, but although this program was recommended for viewers 16 years old or over, I found the emotional content of the stories more fitting for those around 10.