On Pan's Labyrinth
So i watched Pan' s Labyrinth (for more info: http://www.panslabyrinth.com/) with
tenpintrip on Monday (had the afternoon off because i worked on Saturday) and found it highly enjoyable and utterly affective.
Set in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War (coinciding with the larger Second World War) between the Franco Fascists and Loyalists of the Second Spanish Republic, the story centres around a young city girl who was brought to the country when her heavily pregnant mother was summoned by her step-father, who awaited the birth of his son. Step-father, the El Kapitan, a ferocious, trigger-happy officer consumed by the tenets of Fascism, was in the process of cleansing the countryside of Loyalist scum, and had taken over an abandoned flour mill and turned it into his base of operations. Lovely place to raise a child.
Lost and alone in a world filled with fanatical soldiers, discipline and all things martial (reminds me of Pulau Tekong, actually), the girl, Ofelia, loses herself in her storybook and fairytales of princesses and enchanted kingdoms.
She also loses herself in a weed-ridden maze close to the mill. (i.e. Labyrinth)
Enter the magical quasi human-goat halfbreed, the Faun (i.e. Pan, though the movie makes no reference to this particular name), who tells her of a secret destiny only she can fulfill. (hint: it involves amphibians)
It's a deeply affecting (because i got, er, affected) and deeply moving story of loneliness, fear and great conflict. In many instances the inner turmoil of the child reflected the outer conflicts of the wider world - the search for freedom, the need for recognition, and escape from tyranny and oppression. It is about a child raised on fairy tales forced to grow up in a world that threatens to consume her - and her retreat from its very harsh realities.
Must watch -
tenpintrip didn't even realise he'd worn his slippers wrong after the movie.
tenpintrip on Monday (had the afternoon off because i worked on Saturday) and found it highly enjoyable and utterly affective.
Set in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War (coinciding with the larger Second World War) between the Franco Fascists and Loyalists of the Second Spanish Republic, the story centres around a young city girl who was brought to the country when her heavily pregnant mother was summoned by her step-father, who awaited the birth of his son. Step-father, the El Kapitan, a ferocious, trigger-happy officer consumed by the tenets of Fascism, was in the process of cleansing the countryside of Loyalist scum, and had taken over an abandoned flour mill and turned it into his base of operations. Lovely place to raise a child.
Lost and alone in a world filled with fanatical soldiers, discipline and all things martial (reminds me of Pulau Tekong, actually), the girl, Ofelia, loses herself in her storybook and fairytales of princesses and enchanted kingdoms.
She also loses herself in a weed-ridden maze close to the mill. (i.e. Labyrinth)
Enter the magical quasi human-goat halfbreed, the Faun (i.e. Pan, though the movie makes no reference to this particular name), who tells her of a secret destiny only she can fulfill. (hint: it involves amphibians)
It's a deeply affecting (because i got, er, affected) and deeply moving story of loneliness, fear and great conflict. In many instances the inner turmoil of the child reflected the outer conflicts of the wider world - the search for freedom, the need for recognition, and escape from tyranny and oppression. It is about a child raised on fairy tales forced to grow up in a world that threatens to consume her - and her retreat from its very harsh realities.
Must watch -
tenpintrip didn't even realise he'd worn his slippers wrong after the movie.