The Brothers Grimm (film)  

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The Brothers Grimm is a 2005 adventure fantasy film directed by Terry Gilliam. The film stars Matt Damon, Heath Ledger, and Lena Headey in an exaggerated and fictitious portrait of the Brothers Grimm as traveling con-artists in French-occupied Germany, during the early 19th century. However, the brothers eventually encounter a genuine fairy tale curse which requires real courage instead of their usual bogus exorcisms. Supporting characters are played by Peter Stormare, Jonathan Pryce, and Monica Bellucci.

In February 2001, Ehren Kruger sold his spec script to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). With Gilliam's hiring as director, the script was rewritten by Gilliam and Tony Grisoni, but the Writers Guild of America refused to credit them for their work, thus Kruger received sole credit. MGM eventually dropped out as distributor, but decided to co-finance The Brothers Grimm with Dimension Films and Summit Entertainment, while Dimension took over distribution duties.

The film was shot entirely in the Czech Republic. Gilliam often had on-set tensions with brothers Bob and Harvey Weinstein, which caused the original theatrical release date to be delayed nearly ten months. The Brothers Grimm was finally released on 26 August 2005 with mixed reviews and a $105.3 million box office performance.

This also marks Terry Gilliam's first film to receive a PG-13 rating by the MPAA.

Plot

Will and Jake Grimm are traveling con-artists who arrive in French-occupied Germany during the early 19th century. They ride into the town Karlstadt to rid the town of a witch's ghost. However, after killing the "ghost", it is revealed that the Brothers Grimm have actually set up fake demons and monsters to trick the village. Afterwards, as they are celebrating at an inn, Italian torturer Cavaldi takes them to the French General Delatombe. Delatombe forces them to solve a mystery: the girls of the small village of Marbaden are going missing and the villagers are convinced that supernatural beings are responsible. The Brothers are charged with finding out who is responsible, under the assumption that it is the work of con artists like themselves. However, they soon discover that it is in fact the work of a real supernatural force: a beautiful, yet dangerous, 500-year-old, Thuringian Queen stealing young girls to restore her own beauty.

Long ago, King Childeric I came to the forest to build a city while his Queen experiments with black magic to gain eternal life. The bubonic plague comes and she builds a high tower to avoid it, while her husband and everyone below her perishes. She did not understand the Plague was carried by wind and soon rotted away as she decayed over the years. Her spell granted her immortal life, but not the youth and beauty to go along with it. Her youthful appearance now only exists in her mirror, the source of her life, as an illusion and nothing more. She needs to drink the blood of 12 young women to regain her beauty, 10 have already been reported missing.

The queen is working an enchantment to regain her beauty with the aid of her werewolf huntsman with a magic axe, crow familiars, and various creatures in the forest. The Brothers Grimm, with the help of Angelika, a knowing huntress from the village, and Cavaldi intend to defeat The Mirror Queen. After another girl goes missing, Cavaldi takes the Grimms and Angelika back to Delatombe. Because they have failed, Cavaldi may kill both of the Grimms, but after convincing Delatombe that the magic in the forest is actually caused by German rebels, he sends them back, while Cavaldi stays behind with Angelika in the village. Jake gets into the tower, but another girl named Sasha is captured, despite Angelika and Cavaldi's efforts to save her.

In the tower, Jake notices 12 crypts in which the twelve victims must lay. When Sasha's body comes up from a well, the werewolf takes her to a tomb. After rescuing Sasha and taking the wolfman's magic axe, the Grimms return to the village. The magic axe is the only thing of which the trees in the forest are afraid. Delatombe captures the Brothers and believes them to be frauds. French soldiers begin burning down the forest and Cavaldi expresses his sympathy to the brothers, but they are eventually saved by Angelika. The werewolf is revealed to be Angelika's father, who is under the Queen's command by a spell. Angelika is drowned by her father, becoming the 12th victim. The Brothers reach the tower while the Queen breathes an ice wind which puts out the forest fire. Delatombe notices that the Grimms have escaped and goes after them with Cavaldi. When Cavaldi refuses to kill the Grimms, Delatombe shoots him, but is impaled by Will.

The climax ensues with the Mirror Queen's death as Jake shatters the enchanting mirror in the tower. The werewolf resumes the form of Angelika's father (the woodsman) and destroys the rest of the mirror by leaping from the window with it, followed by the bewitched Will, who is trying to stop him. Outside, Cavaldi, having been protected from the bullet by the Grimms' faux-magic armor, recites an Italian curse. The tower falls apart. Jake wakens Angelika. The other 11 girls and Will are also restored. With the menace gone and their daughters returned, the villagers celebrate joyously and in thanks to the brothers. Cavaldi stays in the village and joins in the celebration. The Grimms discuss pursuing a new profession, presumably writing fairy tales.




Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "The Brothers Grimm (film)" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.

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