TALE OF TALES — CANNES 2015

Muddled yet delightfully grotesque, ribald, and opulent Matteo Garrone’s warped fairytale triptych isn’t winning any awards in Cannes but it breathes with the cinematic madness of Ken Russell. Vincent Cassel is a hoot as a perpetually horny king ruled by his penis, and Toby Jones's performance as an impish king obsessed with a flea that grows to the size of a small hippo is something to, um, savor. 

The bizarre out-of-time narrative exists in a land apparently ruled over by three kings, each of whom has a major obsession, although only in the case of John C. Reilly's King of Longtrellis does that honor go to his Queen (played for droll kicks by an ever-youthful Salma Hayek).

The Cannes audience loved the movie even if more than a few of its members couldn't refrain from pulling out their dumb-ass cellphones periodically. 

Not Rated. 125 mins. (B) (Three stars out of five — no halves)