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Cinderella, Snowwhite, Sleeping Beauty... so many old fairy tales have been more or less successfully adapted in many versions (some not made for children at all), but all of them had longer plot than Little Red Riding Hood, more interesting characters and a story that can be transferred to different circumstances, locations, ages. In fact, though popular, this one's rather poor story with one simple, too obvious (and a bit archaic) message for kids. German 2005. version Rotkäppchen (literally) threw girl into Grimm's world, into body and clothes of Little Red Riding Hood where she had to play role like Scott Bacula in Quantum Leap, released after finishing the task. Neil Jordan in 1984. movie The Company of Wolves used some basic moments from the tale to give his art expression of girl's maturation process (Jires did same a decade before playing with horror clichés in Valerie a týden divu...).Márta Mészáros, working for kids, filled the movie with animals (not related to plot, thus reminding on Ronja Rövarsdotter), kept some main events from origin, and introduced new characters so the very short story could fill 90 minutes of movie.Mészáros (though with a lot of meanders) flows the stream of old story, but you can't expect her to make a ordinary fairy tale: is the wolf in this version a bad guy at all? Who is ornithologist? You'll find some obvious metaphors, but only at the very end you reach surprises that will explain many scenes, superficial or deeply hidden messages (and the best way to understand them is re-watching).This is a story about girl's innocence, with many extreme external signs of it: absolute confidence, ability to believe in magic, lamb as a pet... She is protected from outside world that could disturb her innocence. But once (at certain age) a little split appears, the whole structure of innocence can't be preserved. And grandmother knows that once it has to happen. Wolf has to meet her. He is a predator, but not a modern-movie pedophile (in 1990. when this topic still wasn't so popular and abused). He just wants to have her as any evil would like to seduce innocent - drug dealers, criminals, pimps, media, false prophets. And once he finds that he can't have her he wants to destroy her ("eats" her). This allegory isn't related only to young and innocent: "If I can't have you nobody will." How often have we heard or seen it? But even in complete isolation the innocence can't be complete. People around her are still not perfect. Mother and grandmother don't like each other (so how can innocence be kept when there's hate in the air?). Also, mother keeps her love affair a secret - and once the lie is revealed, disappointment grows, innocence fades away and wolf has an open approach. The flowers of the magic tree close first time he appears. And the boy is neither good or bad: he belongs to outer world, something girl has to discover. Grandmother doesn't like or trust him. She doesn't want to understand that the innocence can't be preserved forever. So she pushes the girl away instead - to the wolf or the boy. Mother also isn't glad with the boy inside their shell. When he dances with girl mother asks "What are you doing?", as if this sin should never enter her life. The same mother that has a hidden affair. But the boy, dealing with his own growing up, has no experience to handle girl's problems. He can show her the town (=world) but without recognizing the risks and temptations.The only one who can help girl is great-grandmother. She is alive only while fairy tale lasts - once miracles vanish she dies. And so close to death she is innocent again, there is no greed, lust, envy, hate. She is the only one that can open the magic flowers again. She sacrifices her life, the magic is over, and the girl is (?) ready for the world. The wolf is still there, but looking for some other fairy tale girl...As the whole movie is made from girl's point of view, we return some of our own innocence, lost long ago. We are not sure if wolf is bad, and don't even think that a fairy tale mother could have a hidden romance. "He is just a stranger" she lies to her daughter, and we believe. Once a shell breaks, we can see the world with all its imperfections, and our innocence vanishes again.Innocence is magic and magic is innocent, and they end together. It is not unusual to see the world of magic collapse forever and be replaced by reality - it is Ronja again and King Arthur as well, so is Cinderella (no miracles once she marries the prince), Wizard of Oz, old Croatian legend "Stribor's Woods"... But the end of magic in this movie is abrupt and violent, wolf is shot by ornithologist (again someone from "outside"!). In the same moment as magic stops great-grandmother dies and (shot) wolf vanishes. And the two basic author's ideas are said one after another:"I wouldn't be surprised if the wolf existed only in our imagination.""And it could be there's a wolf in everyone of us."Can innocence exist if there is no fairy tale?Music is like old Russian ballets, related to the character (but without recognizable repeating notes like in Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition"). Photography emphasizes surreal mood the way Tim Burton used it for contrast between external unrealistic beauty and deep darkness of human souls in Edward Scissorhands.The actors are rather cold and distant. That was maybe done on purpose. Trying to preserve the innocence was always a job for people with lack of emotions (remember all those governesses and nuns). Emotions jeopardize innocence. But, whatever we do, there will always be some wolf or some boy...
