More evidence that silent film is back in a big way, Blancanieves offers a new take on the children’s classic Snow White, now transposed to 1920s Spain in the midst of the corrida. Filming in gorgeous black-and-white, director Berger invests the fairytale with all the magic of the classic silver screen: near-square framing, potent, unforgettable images and a lush, varied score. Propelled by masterful performances—Daniel Gimenez Cacho as the missing father (a matador injured by a raging bull), Maribel Verdu as the sadistic stepmother and Macarena Garcia as the grown-up princess—the film zeroes in on faces and bodies. Indeed, these form the very substance of the tale, making the action believable and underscoring the tragedy. But Berger’s adaptation also makes room for delightful whimsy: Pepe the chicken, the child’s faithful companion; the evil stepmother who whips her lover as she straddles him like a pony; the seven dwarfs, now cast as pint-sized bullfighters; and its central character, a strong woman and a torrera. All in all, Snow White has never seemed so contemporary.