Cine TV Contest #135// Maleficent: A Villains Tale
Maleficent (2014) — one of the many masterpieces of Angelina Jolie, one of my favorite actresses, a huge new beginning for Disney, and the fourth highest-grossing movie of 2014.
Maleficent is a live adaptation reimagining of Disney's Sleeping Beauty.
Maleficent tells the Sleeping Beauty story from the reimagined point of view of the story's original villain. Maleficent brought more depth to the Sleeping Beauty story for me.
The movie is about a powerful Moor girl, a fairy with great wings—Maleficent. She encounters a human thief whom she spares. She shares her weakness with him, and he sacrifices a precious belonging for her. And they become friends, maybe even more than friends.
But as they grow with time, they drift apart as they are thrown into a world of fear of the unknown, fear of the greater, envy, greed, want for power, betrayal, revenge, regretful mistakes of anger and pain, and the focus of the CineTV contest #135 that is very overlooked in this story—motherly love.
I know most people have watched this movie, but still, I tried my best not to put any spoilers, because if you haven't watched it, then I would love it if you could watch it and experience what I experienced the first time I watched it.
If you by chance read my previous review on Carnival Row, then you would know my favorite thing about Maleficent was the fairy tale brought to life. Maleficent's wings were the first pair of wings I fell in love with.
The writing of the Maleficent story was genius and deserves full credit. The plot, the character build—it was from Sleeping Beauty, but it felt like it was a whole different story. It even felt more real than the main Sleeping Beauty story. The mix of the emotions of reality brought the whole story to life.
The cinematography, too, was on point, with the lighting expressing and blending with the changing moods of the screen. The dialogue and the cast did their own part in making Maleficent an unforgettable masterpiece.
And Angelina Jolie killed her role, as usual.
Now, some people might think that this movie's only connection with the mother figure was how Maleficent came to love Aurora. This movie showed many that being a mother is far more than a biological connection; it's about the love and care for a child. Maleficent became a true mother to the daughter of the person who caused her immense pain, not just emotionally, but also physically, when he cut off her wings; with her weakness, she entrusted him.
I have seen some people say that the Maleficent story is unreal, and her love is unreal. But it is totally real to me. I mean, why not? My grandma raised the children of her husband's mistresses; she didn't hate them for the mistakes of their parents; she was a mother to them no matter what. She even did omugwu for every single one of them when they had mothers and mothers-in-law.
Maleficent was really a great watch. Although I still have a question about the movie:
If Maleficent didn't initially bless Aurora, saying “beloved by all who meet her," would she have loved her the way she did?
Because the blessing obviously worked, I am not sure if everyone's affection for her was genuine or just manipulated by Maleficent's magic.
But anyway, it was a great watch.
In the end, Maleficent wasn’t just a fantasy movie for me—it was a lesson that showed how love can grow out of pain, how betrayal doesn’t have to determine the future, and how motherhood is defined by actions of the heart, not blood. Whether or not the blessing influenced Maleficent's love for Aurora, one thing is clear: the bond between her and Maleficent was real, powerful, and healing. Besides, I believe being a mother is beyond human; it is magical, and in one way or another, tied by fate.
If you haven’t watched it yet, I honestly hope you do. It’s more than a fairy tale—it’s a journey through heartbreak, betrayal, healing, and forgiveness.