The story of Snow White has been retold many times but never before with the heroine as bullfighter. The inspired move to transpose the fairy-tale to 1920s Seville sets Blancanieves apart from recent cinema Snow Whites (2012 gave us Snow White and the Seven Huntsmen, starring Kristen Stewart, and Julia Roberts in Mirror Mirror). Blancanieves – a silent, black and white film – also feels more daring than The Artist and its syrupy imitators. Where the Oscar-winning picture used silent cinema to channel nostalgia, this Spanish offering reminds us that the medium can also be put to chilling, gothic effect.

We begin in the bullring, where a famed matador is facing his toughest challenge. The shock of seeing her husband ravaged sends his pregnant wife into labour – and to her death. The young daughter, Carmencita, is raised initially by her maternal Grandmother before being sent to the sinister home of her stepmother, Encarna. This role is played brilliantly and lip-snarling by Maribel Vedú, best known as the object of road trip desire in Y Tu Mamá También (2001). It is difficult to imagine what dialogue might have added to her potent, pouting scenes.

The plot then shadows the traditional story, with the familiar motifs of apple and mirror appearing in imaginative new ways. In many respects, the tone stays true to the Grimm’s original spirit. The seven bullfighting dwarves unsettle the audience, as they would have contemporaries. Here are a band of social outcasts, not cheerful woodchoppers who whistle while they work. Moreover, the film feels no obligation to deliver the Disney ending.

Above all, Blancanieves is a visual feast. The cinematography is stunning, conveying the febrile atmosphere of the bullring and a real sense of menace when we enter Encarna’s mansion. Veils flutter and bulls snarl. A flamenco-driven soundtrack further builds a sense of Mediterranean passion – and jealousy. Yes, the director could be accused of indulgence. But the abiding impression is of a film that was enjoyable to make. There are knowing nods to movies past, but a cinéphile’s knowledge is far from essential. The best way to approach Blancanieves is with hungry eyes. They will be satisfied. This is a bold interpretation, set but not rooted in the past. It injects an old story with menace and makes a fairy tale fresh.