The Book of Life

Director: Jorge R. Gutierrez
Cast: Diego Luna, Zoe Saldana, Channing Tatum
Length: 95 minutes
Country: USA

A lot of people view Halloween as a chance to re-acquaint themselves with Michael Myers (the stalker slasher, rather than Shrek), for others, the end of Octobers means it’s time to dig out the Saw box-set. If, however, you’re not overly enamoured by guts and gore – in The Book of Life, director Jorge Gutierrez and producer Guillermo del Toro create a colourful celebration of mortality; perfect for still allowing those of a squeamish disposition to get into the Halloween spirit.

In the small town of San Angel, with the celebrations for the Día del los muertos in full swing, Mexican gods La Muerte (Kate del Castillo) and Xibalba (Ron Perlman), rulers of the land of the remembered and the land of the forgotten respectively, notice that two young boys, Manolo (Diego Luna) Joaquín (Channing Tatum) both pine after the heart of “town jewel” Maria (Zoe Saldana). They decide to cast a wager over who will win her hand, each backing a favourite- one opting for the creative, thoughtful, and musical Manolo, who lives in the shadow of his bullfighting ancestors, the other for the more conventionally heroic Joaquín tasked with defending the town from ferocious bandits.

There’s a certain charm in the crudeness of constructing the characters as wooden puppets- albeit an artificial one, provided by hi-tech CGI and created with a stunning level of detail. The film’s unique, lively visuals prove a real treat for the eyes and ironically, when the action descends into the underworld things only get more colourful and aesthetically zany. Every millimetre of the screen is bathed in this vibrant joy, accosting the senses in a way that means you can’t help but indulge in one of the cheerier interpretations of the most macabre of subjects. It’s like a piñata, bursting at the seams with tombstone shaped sweets.

The Book of Life is a fiesta fit for half-term fun as well as Halloweens to come, and it could never hurt to see a few more mariachi bands trick or treating.

Given the characters’ formal nature is that of stringless marionettes, it’s relieving how few wooden performances there are. Diego Luna adds a spark to the stock role of the sensitive romantic- one that might have come across as just plain wet, Channing Tatum is admirable, however perhaps denied the opportunity to really showcase the comedic talents he’s recently displayed in the Jumpstreet films or The Lego Movie, and Zoe Saldana also provides a fine performance, creating another strong female role model. Notably, Maria is constantly reminding both would-be-wooers that she’s more than just a prize, forcing them to check their privilege.

In order to add the modern twist to the Mexican classic, the film is punctuated by rousing Mariachi renditions of contemporary artists such as Mumford and Sons and a surprisingly well worked cover of Radiohead’s “Creep”. Obviously, as is all ways the case in kids’ films, some of the love ballads cross the threshold into drippy, and here there’s the unique problem that some start to kind of resemble the Doritos Band. For the most part though, the performances hold them together.

Whilst it pound-for-pound matches the high octane, zany energy of the likes of Despicable Me and Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs it doesn’t quite deliver the same comedic clout. However, despite endeavouring to successfully ground this energy at the start, it eventually overflows around the middle. From then on it feels like it forgoes developing the story in an attempt to rush through to the end. In truth, they could have let the party go on a little later.

Whilst the film might perhaps be more suited to an American audience, who will be more familiar with their neighbours’ folklore and their spin on Halloween, this doesn’t take away anything from the strength and charm of the film, because the colourful visual world, so expertly and carefully crafted, is instantly immersive enough to cover for this. The Book of Life is a fiesta fit for half-term fun as well as Halloweens to come, and it could never hurt to see a few more mariachi bands trick or treating.

Header Image Source: 20th Century Fox