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The Science Fiction Horror and Fantasy Film Review

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Theme: Magical Realism

Magical Realism began as a label applied to a grouping of Latin American writers. It is a form of fantasy rooted in the everyday where elements of the fantastical are interwoven in a naturalistic manner. Elements are usually ones that appear in Light Fantasy – ghosts, wishes and curses, clairvoyance, miracles, deities, the appearance of angels.

There have been a number of Magical Realist works to emerge from South America, although these are far outnumbered by US-made ones adapting works or copying the Latin American style. Magical Realism can also be applied to a certain brand of frothy romantic comedy or whimsy where such elements are interwoven. There are a surprising number of these films about magical cooking.

Magical Realism can also be applied to works that offer ethnographic depiction of various cultures that have a magical worldview. Here the elements of the culture – spirits, deities, demonic forces, native magic and creation myths – are interwoven as an accepted part of the characters’ belief system and are given literal depiction on screen.


Arabian Nights (2015)

8 August 201627 November 2024

Rating: ★★

Anthology of Portuguese Magical Realist Vignettes

Director: Miguel Gomes
Category: Fantasy

Arizona Dream (1993)

26 January 201721 September 2019

Rating: ★★½

Occasionally Surreal Desert Happenings

Director: Emir Kusturica
Actors: Johnny Depp, Faye Dunaway, Lili Taylor, Vincent Gallo, …
Category: Fantasy

Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner (2001)

19 October 200225 September 2019

Rating: ★★★★

Inuit Legend and Culture

Director: Zacharias Kunuk
Actors: Natar Ungalaaq, Sylvia Ivalu, Peter-Henry Arnatsiaq, Lucy Tulugarjuk, …
Category: Fantasy

Bailey’s Mistake (2001)

6 June 200925 October 2019

Rating: ★★

Magical Realism

Director: Michael M. Robin
Actors: Linda Hamilton, Joan Plowright, Kyle Secor, Jesse James, …
Category: Fantasy

Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012)

30 July 201218 November 2022

Rating: ★★★★

Magical Realism

Director: Benh Zeitlin
Actors: Quvenzhane Wallis, Dwight Henry, Levy Easterly, Lowell Landes, …
Category: Fantasy

The Butcher’s Wife (1991)

3 April 199917 March 2020

Rating: ★★½

Magical Realist Romance

Director: Terry Hughes
Actors: Demi Moore, Jeff Daniels, George Dzundza, Mary Steenburgen, …
Category: Fantasy

Celestial Clockwork (1995)

19 September 20009 April 2020

Rating: ★★★

Magical Realism

Director: Fina Torres
Actors: Ariadna Gil, Arielle Dombasle, Lluis Homar
Category: Fantasy

Chocolat (2000)

19 January 20013 February 2024

Rating: ★★

Magical Realism

Director: Lasse Hallström
Actors: Juliette Binoche, Alfred Molina, Johnny Depp, Lena Olin, …
Category: Fantasy

Cinderella Moon (2010)

16 February 201319 April 2020

Rating: ★★

Chinese Version of Cinderella

Director: Richard Bowen
Category: Fantasy

Cold Fever (1995)

14 August 20049 March 2023

Rating: ★★★

Quest to Iceland/Magical Realism

Director: Fridrik Thor Fridriksson
Actors: Nagase Masatoshi, Fisher Stevens, Lili Taylor
Category: Fantasy

The Emerald Forest (1985)

26 February 20076 October 2020

Rating: ★★

Amazon Rainforest Drama/Magical Realism

Director: John Boorman
Actors: Charley Boorman, Powers Boothe, Meg Foster
Category: Fantasy

Eve’s Bayou (1997)

10 May 200914 April 2022

Rating: ★★★★

Backwater Louisiana Childhood/Voodoo

Director: Kasi Lemmons
Actors: Lynn Whitfield, Samuel L. Jackson, Debbi Morgan, Meagan Good, …
Category: Fantasy

The Future (2011)

4 November 201119 August 2024

Rating: ★★★

Whimsical Relationship Drama/Magical Realism

Director: Miranda July
Actors: Miranda July, Hamish Linklater, David Warshofsky, Angela Trimbur
Category: Fantasy

Golden Kingdom (2015)

29 September 201511 May 2021

Rating: ★★½

The Lives of Buddhist Orphans/Magical Realism

Director: Brian Perkins
Category: Fantasy

The House of the Spirits (1993)

18 April 20012 September 2021

Rating: ★★

Latin American Family Saga/Magical Realism

Director: Bille August
Actors: Jeremy Irons, Meryl Streep, Winona Ryder, Antonio Banderas, …
Category: Fantasy

Household Saints (1993)

3 May 20002 September 2021

Rating: ★★★½

Catholicism and Miracles

Director: Nancy Savoca
Actors: Lili Taylor, Vincent D'Onofrio, Tracey Ullman, Judith Malina, …
Category: Fantasy

Into the West (1993)

14 November 199916 November 2021

Rating: ★★★½

Mystical Horse/Irish Magical Realism

Director: Mike Newell
Actors: Gabriel Byrne, Ellen Barkin, Bernard Gleeson, Colm Meaney, …
Category: Fantasy

The Journals of Knud Rasmussen (2006)

17 August 20079 May 2025

Rating: ★★★½

Inuit Culture and First Meeting with Europeans

Director: Norman Cohn, Zacharias Kunuk
Actors: Natar Ungalaaq, Kim Bodnia, Peter-Henry Arnatsiaq
Category: Fantasy

The Juniper Tree (1990)

24 June 202021 May 2022

Rating: ★★

Brothers Grimm Fairytale Adaptation

Director: Nietzchka Keene
Actors: Björk
Category: Fantasy

The Land Has Eyes (2004)

26 November 200524 December 2024

Rating: ★★½

Fijian Culture and Myth

Director: Vilsoni Hereniko
Actors: Sapeta Taito, Rena Owen
Category: Fantasy

Life is Whistling (1998)

10 October 199930 April 2023

Rating: ★★★½

Cuban Magical Realism

Director: Fernando Perez
Category: Fantasy

Like Water for Chocolate (1992)

3 March 200231 January 2025

Rating: ★★★½

Magical Realism/Magic Cooking

Director: Alfonso Arau
Actors: Lumi Cavazos, Regina Torne, Marco Leonardi
Category: Fantasy

A Lobster Tale (2006)

17 January 20107 September 2020

Rating: ★★½

Magical Realism/Miracle Healing Moss

Director: Adam Massey
Actors: Colm Meaney, Alberta Watson, Jack Knight, Graham Greene, …
Category: Fantasy

The Mexican (2001)

4 March 20017 November 2019

Rating: ★★

Romantic Comedy/Magical Realism

Director: Gore Verbinski
Actors: Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, James Gandolfini, Bob Balaban, …
Category: Fantasy

Midnight’s Children (2012)

6 December 20123 August 2019

Rating: ★★★½

Modern History of India/Children With Superpowers

Director: Deepa Mehta
Actors: Satya Babha, Shahana Goswami, Rajat Kapoor, Ronit Roy, …
Category: Fantasy

The Milagro Beanfield War (1988)

12 May 20046 December 2024

Rating: ★★★½

Magical Realism

Director: Robert Redford
Actors: John Heard, Christopher Walken, Melanie Griffith, Carlos Riquelme, …
Category: Fantasy

Miracle in Milan (1951)

3 June 20253 June 2025

Rating: ★★★★

Italian Neo-Realism with Fantasy Elements

Director: Vittorio De Sica
Actors: Francesco Golisano, Brunella Bovi, Emma Gramatica
Category: Fantasy

The Mistress of Spices (2005)

24 July 20068 January 2025

Rating: ★★

Indian Magical Realism/Magical Spices

Director: Paul Mayeda Berges
Actors: Aishwarya Rai, Dylan McDermott, Anupam Kher, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, …
Category: Fantasy

More Than a Miracle (1967)

2 March 200610 June 2024

Rating: ★★★

Magical Realist Fairytale

Director: Francesco Rosi
Actors: Sophia Loren, Omar Sharif, Leslie French
Category: Fantasy

Of Love and Other Demons (2010)

31 December 201024 April 2023

Rating: ★★★★

Possible Demonic Possession/Magical Realism

Director: Hilda Hidalgo
Actors: Eliza Triana, Pablo Derqui, Jordi Dauder
Category: Fantasy

The Offering (1995)

14 September 200223 December 2021

Rating: ★★★

Mexican Sorceress/Magical Realism

Director: Francesca Fisher, Taggart Siegel
Actors: Maira Serbulo, Thom Vernon, Greg Sporleder
Category: Fantasy

The Price of Milk (2000)

15 May 200113 February 2025

Rating: ★★★

Kiwi Magical Realism

Director: Harry Sinclair
Actors: Danielle Cormack, Karl Urban, Willa O'Neill
Category: Fantasy

Rough Magic (1995)

6 July 200028 December 2023

Rating: ★★★

Magical Realism

Director: Clare Peploe
Actors: Bridget Fonda, Russell Crowe, Jim Broadbent, D.W. Moffett, …
Category: Fantasy

The Silent One (1984)

23 December 200014 March 2025

Rating: ★★

Deaf Polynesian Boy Befriends a Sea Turtle

Director: Yvonne Mackay
Actors: Anzac Wallace, George Henare, Pat Evison
Category: Fantasy

The Simian Line (2000)

22 November 200815 March 2024

Rating: ★★

Magical Realist Ensemble Drama

Director: Linda Yellen
Actors: Lynn Redgrave, William Hurt, Eric Stoltz, Harry Connick Jr., …
Category: Fantasy

Simply Irresistible (1999)

19 April 200014 February 2023

Rating: ★

Magical Realism/Magical Cooking

Director: Mark Tarlov
Actors: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Sean Patrick Flanery, Patricia Clarkson, Larry Gilliard Jr, …
Category: Fantasy

Snakeskin (2001)

30 January 200521 November 2024

Rating: ★★

Surreal New Zealand Road Movie

Director: Gillian Ashurst
Actors: Melanie Lynskey, Boyd Kestner, Dean O'Gorman, Oliver Driver, …
Category: Fantasy

The Tin Drum (1979)

8 May 200424 November 2021

Rating: ★★★½

Boy Who Refuses to Grow Up/Nazi Allegory

Director: Volker Schlondorff
Actors: David Bennent, Mario Adorf, Angela Winkler, Charles Aznavour
Category: Fantasy

Twice Upon a Yesterday (1998)

28 October 199928 November 2023

Rating: ★★★

The Past Revisited/Romance

Director: Maria Ripoll
Actors: Douglas Henshall, Lena Headey, Penelope Cruz, Mark Strong, …
Category: Fantasy

Village of Dreams (1996)

28 November 200425 April 2023

Rating: ★★

Mischievous Twins’ Childhood/Magical Realism

Director: Yoichi Higashi
Category: Fantasy

The Vintner’s Luck (2009)

10 August 201021 December 2023

Rating: ★★½

Angel Aids Winemaker

Director: Niki Caro
Actors: Jeremie Renier, Gaspard Ulliel, Vera Farmiga, Keisha Castle-Hughes, …
Category: Fantasy

The Wall (1998)

14 November 19995 June 2025

Rating: ★★

Belgian Dystopia/Magical Realism

Director: Alain Berliner
Category: Fantasy

The Water Diviner (2014)

22 May 20152 August 2024

Rating: ★★½

Post-World War I Drama/Magical Realism

Director: Russell Crowe
Actors: Russell Crowe, Olga Kurylenko, Yilmaz Erdogan, Dylan Georgiades, …
Category: Fantasy

Wendy (2020)

14 May 202114 May 2021

Rating: ★★½

Modernised Peter Pan Retelling

Director: Benh Zeitlin
Actors: Devin France, Yashua Mack, Gage Naquin, Gavin Naquin, …
Category: Fantasy

Whale Rider (2002)

17 February 200316 September 2020

Rating: ★★★

Maori Culture/Mystical Communion with the Whales

Director: Niki Caro
Actors: Keisha Castle-Hughes, Rawiri Paretene, Cliff Curtis
Category: Fantasy

Woman on Top (2000)

22 September 20101 September 2021

Rating: ★★★

Magical Realism

Director: Fina Torres
Actors: Penelope Cruz, Harold Perrineau Jr, Murilo Benicio, Mark Feuerstein, …
Category: Fantasy

The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit (1998)

25 April 201716 June 2025

Rating: ★

Ray Bradbury Adaptation/Magical Suit

Director: Stuart Gordon
Actors: Joe Mantegna, Clifton Gonzalez Gonzalez, Esai Morales, Gregory Sierra, …
Category: Fantasy

Year Without a Summer (2010)

17 October 201117 June 2025

Rating: 0­

Malaysian Magical Realism

Director: Tan Chui Mui
Category: Fantasy

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Contact Moria

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Theme Essays

  • Films About Atlantis
  • Werewolf Films
  • Virtual Reality
  • Imprisonment Thrillers
  • Films Depicting NASA and the Space Program
  • Human Bloodsports and Death Games
  • Animals Attack Films
  • Films About Plague and Pandemic
  • Disaster Movies
  • Steampunk Films
  • Documentaries
  • Films About Halloween
  • Films About Prophecy
  • Magicians and Sorcerers
  • Secret Societies
  • Real-Life People in Fiction
  • Techno-Thrillers
  • Twins in Fantastic Cinema
  • Asylums
  • Possession Films
  • Films About Imaginary and Magical Lands
  • Religion in Fantastic Cinema
  • Romantic Comedies
  • Film Noir
  • Spy Films
  • Jekyll and Hyde Films
  • Films That Make Dubious Claims to Being True Stories
  • Coming of Age Stories in Fantastic Cinema
  • Films About Cryogenics and Suspended Animation
  • Alternate History Films
  • Disturbed Psychology as Portrayed on Film
  • Law Enforcement in Fantastic Cinema
  • Weird Westerns
∧

Copyright Richard Scheib 1999-2025

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