2003 · fairytale · dark · absurdist

Grimm

Directed by Alex van Warmerdam · 1h 43m · 2003

One cold winter's day, Jacob and his sister Marie are abandoned in a wood by their out of work father. In his jacket Jacob finds a letter from their mother urging them to go to her brother in Spain. Once in Spain, it turns out that their uncle is dead. Marie meets Diego, a wealthy charming Spanish surgeon, and falls in love with him. Diego lives with his sick, domineering sister, Teresa. To Jacob's astonishment, Marie wants to marry Diego. Even after the wedding has taken place, jealous Jacob tries to get his sister away from Diego. When this doesn't succeed, Jacob starts to provoke his brother-in-law. It soon transpires that no one will go unpunished for this.

Our read: Grimm (2003) reads as a sombre, kinetic, surreal fairytale · dark · absurdist entry — measured in intensity, intimate in scope, cold in temperature, nihilistic in outlook, with a strong directorial signature.