Pan's Labyrinth - A Review
So I saw Pan's Labyrinth, and I was telling my cousin about it and she asked if I wrote a review on my blog, and I realized I hadn't.
So here it is.
I went in to this film with no preconceived ideas based on all the rave reviews. And yes, the reviewers are raving. Oscar is buzzing from the foreign language office and I know they hear it down the hall. It's gonna win. You heard it here.
This is a beautiful fairy tale about a girl being seperated from her mother and trying to cope with her step-father, and ultimately choosing to... well, thats up to you. Does she succumb to her reality or does she live her fantasy?
Ofelia's mother is pregnant and about to deliver any second, and Ofelia is a confused girl. The two travel to an outpost in northern Spain during the 1944 post-civil war to meet Ofelia's mother's new husband, the Captain Vidal, who is trying to rid the country of the militia. To call Vidal evil is to call Hitler a pot-stirrer. He is the quintessential bad guy, as portrayed by Sergi Lopez, renowned Spanish actor.
Ofelia, by the way, is played by 11-year old Ivana Baquero, who brings to mind Amelie's Audrey Taotau in her engaging charm. You love her right away.
But anyway...
The film itself is a fairy tale, in every sense of the word. The story is simple, the conceit is straightforward and the moral is delivered.
What sets this fairy tale apart is that its rendered in film form, and not only is it entertaining but as straightforward as the story is you never know whats gonna happen next. And all the fantastic elements are rendered in such a way as to be plausible in context.
Ofelia loves her mother, hates her step-father, and lives in a fantasy world to escape the horrors (enacted graphically!) of her life.
When I say her real life is graphic I shouldn't parenthesise, cos it's a pretty major aspect of the film. Her real life is horrible. The captain is abusive to Ofelia and her mother. Seriously, you have no idea.
Ofelia's fantasy life involves a quest; complete three tasks and claim immortality; so says Pan, otherwordly creature of the labyrinth.
Oh yeah, the labyrinth. It rests just outside the grounds of the captain's estate. Overgrown and ignored, it waits to be discovered by the princess of the underworld. Guess who?
What I like about this film is it's ambiguous ending. I won't give it away, but twists of modern thrillers be damned! This story delivers an honest ending and makes you think. (the horror!)
Highlights include: the blind monster with eyeballs in his hands, sewing up the injury, who is the white-haired woman, and the mandrake root.
Don't focus on these things, just enjoy them.
The one question you should ask yourself after seeing this film is; am I an idealist or a cynic?
You'll know why after you see it.
Oh yeah, my advice is SEE IT!!!
So here it is.
I went in to this film with no preconceived ideas based on all the rave reviews. And yes, the reviewers are raving. Oscar is buzzing from the foreign language office and I know they hear it down the hall. It's gonna win. You heard it here.
This is a beautiful fairy tale about a girl being seperated from her mother and trying to cope with her step-father, and ultimately choosing to... well, thats up to you. Does she succumb to her reality or does she live her fantasy?
Ofelia's mother is pregnant and about to deliver any second, and Ofelia is a confused girl. The two travel to an outpost in northern Spain during the 1944 post-civil war to meet Ofelia's mother's new husband, the Captain Vidal, who is trying to rid the country of the militia. To call Vidal evil is to call Hitler a pot-stirrer. He is the quintessential bad guy, as portrayed by Sergi Lopez, renowned Spanish actor.
Ofelia, by the way, is played by 11-year old Ivana Baquero, who brings to mind Amelie's Audrey Taotau in her engaging charm. You love her right away.
But anyway...
The film itself is a fairy tale, in every sense of the word. The story is simple, the conceit is straightforward and the moral is delivered.
What sets this fairy tale apart is that its rendered in film form, and not only is it entertaining but as straightforward as the story is you never know whats gonna happen next. And all the fantastic elements are rendered in such a way as to be plausible in context.
Ofelia loves her mother, hates her step-father, and lives in a fantasy world to escape the horrors (enacted graphically!) of her life.
When I say her real life is graphic I shouldn't parenthesise, cos it's a pretty major aspect of the film. Her real life is horrible. The captain is abusive to Ofelia and her mother. Seriously, you have no idea.
Ofelia's fantasy life involves a quest; complete three tasks and claim immortality; so says Pan, otherwordly creature of the labyrinth.
Oh yeah, the labyrinth. It rests just outside the grounds of the captain's estate. Overgrown and ignored, it waits to be discovered by the princess of the underworld. Guess who?
What I like about this film is it's ambiguous ending. I won't give it away, but twists of modern thrillers be damned! This story delivers an honest ending and makes you think. (the horror!)
Highlights include: the blind monster with eyeballs in his hands, sewing up the injury, who is the white-haired woman, and the mandrake root.
Don't focus on these things, just enjoy them.
The one question you should ask yourself after seeing this film is; am I an idealist or a cynic?
You'll know why after you see it.
Oh yeah, my advice is SEE IT!!!
posted by johnnykocktail at 3:05 am
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