Anx said:

Yes, but she was a little girl!! How sad of a story is it when we're happy that a little girl dies at the end to rid her of her suffering??

Mean, horrible, sad movie.

CarrieMpls said:

I mean, it wasn't even a minor spoiler. THAT was huge.

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For those who know me, I am notoriously bad at even being able sit through a movie, let alone one that isn't in English. But every so often a movie comes around that touches me in ways other movies can't. Guillermo del Toro's Pans Labyrinth is such a movie. A burgeoning director, Del Toro's previous efforts like Hell Boy simply don't prepare you for the awe inspiring experience this movie dishes up. Del Toro weaves a tale of sacrifice, heart break, desperation, and magic. Throughout this wondrous two hour movie, Del Toro reminds us that no matter how bleak your circumstances you always have the ability to resist or make choices.

I knew I was in for a treat when I entered the theatre early to witness adults walking out with tears in their eyes. The story takes place during 1944 during Spain's brutal civil war, in which a young girl, Ofelia is taken from the city way out to the country with her mother to meet her cold, calculating, and brutal stepfather, a Spanish army captain, whose knack for torture and violence are displayed unflinchingly. The violence in this movie, though a bit much for me to stomach in certain scenes, is never glorified, or presented like a protracted bloodfest ala Mel Gibson, but serves rather as an ultra real presentation of a desperation which is so lifelike that you can taste and smell it, appreciating how it contrasts beautifully with Ofelia's escape in the world of the labyrinth.

This is not to say that the mythical world Ofelia finds herself in serves as mere escapism. In many ways, the mythical world mirrors the horrors that his poor young girl faces in her real life. Beautifully rendered creatures, stark for their imagination as well as ferocity in certain scenes, often forces the audience to actually feel relieved when she escapes back into her "real" surroundings.

But at the heart of this story are the characters and complex interwoven themes. The menacing step father, the maid Mercedes who serves as a spy for the rebels, the doctor who assist Mercedes, and the wonderful performance by the 11 year old girl who plays Ofelia, all serve to hook you in and keep you under their spell. The actors and actresses each deliver their lines with stark clarity but never making you feel as if you're being lectured. When the one of the characters tells the wicked captain that the difference between the two of them is that he has a choice, and that he chooses to resist, my heart practically ached knowing it was a personal stand he would be punished for. But Del Toro isn't seeking to tell you to not make those choices based upon principle. Rather, he is stating that fascism in the world is very real. That it is very brutal (hence the violence in the movie), but no matter how desperate things are, you always have the choice to resist it. You always have the ability to make a difference, even if it costs you dearly.

I can't really go much more into the story without giving it away, but I can say that it is simply one of the best films I have ever seen. EVER. Not since Forest Gump, Ghandi, and Graffiti Bridge has a movie stirred so many emotions in me. I certainly will be looking for future works of Del Toro, though I hope he doesn't keep escalating the violence in his movies, as that would kind of suck ass.




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[Edited 2/19/07 8:11am]

I thought this movie was perfect. The fact that it didn't have a happy ending only made the film appeal to me more.

I read in an interview with Guillermo that Mercedes is what Ophelia would have become if she had stopped believing and that's why there are many similarities between the two characters--like their strong connections to their brothers.

most fairy tales started out as pretty gory, unhappy-ending tales before disney and the like came in and sanitized them and turned them into happy pretty cartoons with sparkly pixies and whatnot.

I loved HELLBOY!!!

I really liked PAN'S LABYRINTH but the only thing I could think of during the film was "I hope nobody brings their kids." It was brutally violent.

sextonseven said:

Surprise

I loved HELLBOY!!!

I really liked PAN'S LABYRINTH but the only thing I could think of during the film was "I hope nobody brings their kids." It was brutally violent.


M

And, the Underworld-as-a-Good-Place ending was something I wasn't even going to trifle with.

ThreadBare said:

I saw it more as the afterlife, not an underworld. But then again, it was all in the girl's mind anyway.

add edit
[Edited 4/7/07 10:12am]

sextonseven said:

who says it was all in the girls mind?
I think it was really happening to her.