Film Review: Pan's Labyrinth
Pan's Labyrinth/El Laberinto del Fauno:
Wow! What a great film! I really really enjoyed the attention to detail that polished the film into a region far beyond its conventional production budget.
Acting:
Sergi Lopez owned the role of fascist pig, and though I swore I had seen him before, I didn't tweak that it was he (him?) in Dirty Pretty Things.
Likewise, it was only Elise's recognition of Maribel Verdu from Y Tu Mama Tambien that sparked my memory.
Also, Ivana Barquero really did a marvelous job of conveying daydreamy terrified Ofelia - remarkable for how few lines she had to convey the part. Frankly, she was loads better than Stephanie Leonidas in Mirrormask for a role of young heroine protagonist in a modern fantasy film.
Characters:
Sorry James McAvoy, but Guillermo del Toro's Fauno, oozing elemental power (of unclear morality too), knocks the scarf off your Christianized domesticated Mr. Tumnus.
Aspects of horror & fantasy:
I really enjoyed how Guillermo del Toro wove in so many fantastical and horror elements so well into his film. The violence was shocking, not traditionally (e.g. Hollywood) telegraphed (when there was warning at all), and not gratuitous. The shocking violence served the plot, and moved it forward.* Likewise, the creature in Ofelia's second test was really really well done (e.g. the shoes!). Which also recalls the 'quests' and 'tests' of classic fantasy. Ooo...and a great Wizard of Oz reference with Ofelia's shoes.
*If there is any negative for this film - it is the sheer scale of blood and ouchy-pokey things. This is not a fantasy for young children (which oddly enough is how the ads on TV seem to convey it), aligning closer with original Grimm horror tales.
Debate:
Elise, Gabe, and I had a small debate about the ending of the film. Sure there was sadness, but was there also escape, freedom, magic? (Funny how this echoes Brazil) I like how Guillermo leaves it open to the satisfaction of both factions ... that there is a believable fantasy ending, as well as a believable brutal reality.
Wow! What a great film! I really really enjoyed the attention to detail that polished the film into a region far beyond its conventional production budget.
Acting:
Characters:
Sorry James McAvoy, but Guillermo del Toro's Fauno, oozing elemental power (of unclear morality too), knocks the scarf off your Christianized domesticated Mr. Tumnus.
Aspects of horror & fantasy:
I really enjoyed how Guillermo del Toro wove in so many fantastical and horror elements so well into his film. The violence was shocking, not traditionally (e.g. Hollywood) telegraphed (when there was warning at all), and not gratuitous. The shocking violence served the plot, and moved it forward.* Likewise, the creature in Ofelia's second test was really really well done (e.g. the shoes!). Which also recalls the 'quests' and 'tests' of classic fantasy. Ooo...and a great Wizard of Oz reference with Ofelia's shoes.
*If there is any negative for this film - it is the sheer scale of blood and ouchy-pokey things. This is not a fantasy for young children (which oddly enough is how the ads on TV seem to convey it), aligning closer with original Grimm horror tales.
Debate:
Elise, Gabe, and I had a small debate about the ending of the film. Sure there was sadness, but was there also escape, freedom, magic? (Funny how this echoes Brazil) I like how Guillermo leaves it open to the satisfaction of both factions ... that there is a believable fantasy ending, as well as a believable brutal reality.