If Charlie Brookner used anime as a medium and decided to tackle the timeless folktales of Willem and Jacob Grimm. That's how I would describe The Grimm Variations, because you soon realize that although there are momentary hints of stylistic sweetness, it's counter-balanced by unsettling realities that have nothing in common with the magical charm of Ghibli-land.
In episode one we meet a Cinderella who kills with kindness. Lady Kiyoko is delighted when her father marries again, and she gains two sisters in the bargain. But then the gaslighting begins.
Episode two amplifies the menace of a big bad wolf hunting tender female flesh in a futuristically virtual environment.
Hansel and Gretel must choose between the stark environment of an institution under the iron rule of the stern "mama" and "papa" and questions raised by the subversive ideas of the old woman they meet in the forest.
N, a former literary prodigy, struggles to reprise past successes. But then he publishes The Elves and the Shoemaker - at the same time living its theme of benefiting from the labor of a secret, magical helper. The current discourse around AI-assisted writing makes episode four particularly relevant.
The musicians of Bremen (episode 5) become a metaphor for girl power and found family in a Wild West setting. Unlike the preceding episodes, which featured a jazzy soundtrack, this one draws on moody, bluesy rock interpretations of classical Beethoven.
The story of the Pied Piper is about the irresistible attraction exerted by a stranger upon an isolated village. About exchanging the oppressive familiarity of xenophobia for the uncertain thrill of exploration. About the power of music and the fact that self-discovery is a one-way-street from which there is no return.
Each installment is framed by an exchange between the scholarly Grimm brothers and their adorable younger sibling.
The themes of each of the stories are timeless and serve well as a lens that shapes our future dreams and nightmares, the fault-lines inherent in our society. The unsettling relationship between hunter and hunted has become a template for story genres as diverse as romance and horror. The oppressed angel of virtue makes compelling political drama, inviting narratives about victimhood being donned as costume and becoming an identity. The fear of unearned success lies at the very heart of the imposters syndrome that plagues so many creatives. And sometimes only the blind courage of innocents and fools can defeat cruelty and corruption powered by self-interest.
We have interacted with versions of these tropes for hundreds of years. And they remain accessible even today.
Trigger warnings: The stories contain violence, disturbing scenes and adult situations. They are not for kids.
I believe (secretly) that I am probably one of the weirdest people you are likely to run into. For years, I compulsively read SF and fantasy - mainly because I was looking for that species of aliens/faeries/elves or whatever who had somehow left me behind here on earth. Now I know different. We are all strangely beautiful beings full of our own magic and mysteries. I would not say, I have secrets... rather, I have become one... I play in this oddly flawed reality as I listen to the sands whispering through my hourglass. When they are all gone, I will wake up into the infinity that is my true home. Until then, I write, play guitar and create art.
