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10 Great Movies From 2013 That You Probably Missed In Theatres

More than 600 movies received a theatrical release in 2013, which means that if you went to see a new movie every day this year, you still could not cover the whole cinematic spectrum. 2013 was, in this critic’s opinion, one of the best years for film in recent memory. Of the 80 or so films I saw this year, I enjoyed about two thirds of them. The titles that I can recommend heartily range from big-budget extravaganzas (among them, Gravity and Star Trek Into Darkness), as well as modest films that did not last long in theatres. If the diversity of the picks from early awards and critics prizes attest to anything, it is that the variety of quality films was vast this year.

[h2]1) Blancanieves[/h2]

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In 2012, two American films based on the Snow White fairly tale – Mirror Mirror and Snow White and the Huntsman – came out. Those CGI-infused retellings held little of the power that Blancanieves did, a silent, black-and-white feature with Spanish intertitles, a film in a forest all of its own. It sacrificed the joviality and thrills of the American films for a more poignant dramatic core – and ultimately worked far better.

Spanish director Pablo Berger reframes the classic tale in 1920s Andalusian Spain. The King, Antonio Villalta (Daniel Giménez Cacho), is a prized matador who is gored at the film’s start and left paralyzed to a wheelchair. He takes residence with Encarna, the film’s wicked Queen, played with a convincing glare by Maribel Verdú (Pan’s Labyrinth). Snow White comes in the form of Antonio’s daughter, Carmen (Sofia Oria as a girl, Macarena Garcia as an adult), who Antonio teaches the art of bullfighting in secret. Eventually, Carmen grows up, runs away from Encarna and joins a troupe of bullfighting dwarves.

Berger is a master stylist who relies on the conventions of silent cinema – rapid edits a la Battleship Potemkin and at other times, exquisite expressionist images – to tie the story to classic filmmaking. The fairy tale’s archetypal elements are intact, yet the striking visuals and a magnificent musical score makes this a telling that’s not just refreshing, but also has an enchanting spark of discovery.

Berger is a filmmaker to watch and Blancanieves is a dark and deeply romantic homage to both the Brothers Grimm and 1920s cinema. Its style helps to give audiences the classical feel of a fairy tale.