The bull’s eyes glare angrily at the man standing confidently in the middle of the arena. He is Antonio Villalta (Daniel Giménez Cacho), a famous matador, and he is returning the bull’s gaze. Then he swings his muleta and performs a gentle dancing movement as the bull starts to attack with the tip of its horn. Villalta blows a kiss and tosses his hat to his pregnant wife for luck. He tells her, “This is for our unborn child.”

This is the beginning scene of “Blancanieves,” one of the opening night selections for the 2013 Wisconsin Film Festival. It is a re-imagining of Snow White by the Brothers Grimm rendered in a classic film style. The plot is quite similar to the original version. Set in 1920s Seville, Spain, Encarna (Maribel Verdú) represents the character of the Wicked Queen who marries a widower Villalta. His daughter, Carmenita (Macarena García) lived miserably under the rule of Encarna.

The director, Pablo Berger, brings the era of black and white silent film into the digital era. Contributing to the originality is the 35 mm film format. Combining the classic style and Berger’s out-of-the-box narration, it feels as if a time machine had taken the audience back to the heyday of black and white film with this emotional story.