Tale of Tales, a Mother/Son relationship

by, Cameron Lui

Salma Hayek is not a mother to mess with. She makes it clear to her son that his behavior is disappointing yet he continues to sneak off to the woods and in nooks of the castle to hang out with his virgin birth born, peasant twin. I could explain that better but it would be too big of a spoiler. 

One of the most subtly beautiful scenes is when she calls for her son to come into her chamber and mistakenly calls in his peasant twin. She does not seem to notice anything is off until she gives a subtle sniff at his collar.

From there the scene gets even stressful. The two brothers begin to create a plot behind the queens back. 

What made this such an amazing moment was the overbearingness of the mother. We all know parents are notorious eavesdroppers and I loved how they use this totally bizarre situation as a metaphor for the simple consistencies of parental paranoia. 

As she listens through the vents she becomes infuriated, storms down stairs and bangs on the door. In a frantic shuffle her son hides his brother in a back closet like a paranoid child worried of being caught in a lie.   

She peeks around but plays it cool, making a subtle decision not to search his room. Instead she uses some seasoned motherly manipulation as she talks to him, gives him a hug, and harshly reminds him that no one will ever love him like she does. As she tries to cut to her sons core, he simply holds his straight face, and in his world he fools her into leaving without searching for his brother. However, the mother will always win. She takes matters into her own hands and assures that the situation be eradicated. 

The scene was beautifully done and the tension in the relationship alone makes the movie worth seeing.