Tale of Tales: Monstrous Appetites, Food and Fantasy

This week, we dive into Tale of Tales (dir. Matteo Garrone, 2015) and explore the rich tapestry of fairy tales by Giambattista Basile on which the film is based. Drawing from Basile’s 17th-century collection Lo cunto de li cunti (also known as The Pentamerone), we look at how the film adapts these dark, fantastical stories for a contemporary audience- examining themes, imagery, and the enduring power of early modern fairy-tale tradition.

At the core of our discussion is the deliciously unsettling intersection of food and horror in both Basile’s tales and Garrone’s film: the heart of a sea monster, a mountain of struffoli, and even a royal feast built around a flea. These bizarre, macabre acts of eating reveal just how deeply food shapes the film’s dark fantasy world… and it gets very weird.

Link to Giambattista Basile's fairy tales Stories from Pentamerone: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/2198/2198-h/2198-h.htm