Pinocchio

Matteo Garrone has described this as the project of his life, saying he drew the first storyboard for it at six years old. So a director known for adult work like Gomorrah making something for children is less strange than it sounds. Roberto Benigni plays Geppetto. The good detail is that Benigni played Pinocchio himself in his own 2002 film and is now the father. Federico Ielapi plays Pinocchio and Marine Vacth the adult Blue Fairy. Most of the characters were built not with computer effects but with prosthetic makeup designed by Mark Coulier, which gives the film a dirty, tangible surface. The telling stays close to Collodi's 1883 book and does not soften its darker parts, the hanging included. At the 93rd Academy Awards it was nominated for costume design and for makeup and hairstyling, and it won five David di Donatello Awards. On an 11 million euro budget it grossed 30.4 million dollars and became Garrone's biggest domestic hit. Who it is for: viewers curious about how harsh the original story is. Who it is not for: anyone planning to watch with small children. The film is genuinely frightening.