Movies: Pan's Labyrinth
I saw "Pan's Labyrinth" (AKA "El Laberinto del Fauno") over the weekend, and I have to say, I have mixed feelings about it. The movie concerns a young girl's descent into a fantasy world during the Spanish Civil War (well, the aftermath of it, anyway). Suffice it to say that there's a labyrinth, and a fawn, and to say more would be to kill most of the stuff to discover in the movie.
On the one hand, the production design is sumptuous, the overall performances are decent, and the direction of the film feels quite assured - this isn't a movie with major pacing problems or awkward camera angles. It's also nice to see a fantasy film that isn't afraid of violence - the movie is rated R (though I think it probably deserved only a PG-13) and the ending is certainly not the sugar-coated Disney version of fairy tales you might be sick of.
Unfortunately, "Pan's Labyrinth" is severely flawed. The plot is predictable - perhaps unavoidable in a fantasy film, but it makes for a somewhat boring viewing experience. Even more unsettling, though, is the fact that I started feeling sympathy for the supposed antagonist, the cold-blooded Captain Vidal.
SPOILERS
This is a guy who literally sews his sliced mouth back together with a fishhook. He shoots his 12 year-old stepdaughter after she collaborates with the rebels and steals his son. Perhaps most fascinating is his apolitical stance - in his mind, the only difference between his side and theirs is that his side won the war. Whereas in Del Toro's mind this kind of character portrayal reads as "monster," to Western eyes, it definitely starts looking like "badass."
On the one hand, the production design is sumptuous, the overall performances are decent, and the direction of the film feels quite assured - this isn't a movie with major pacing problems or awkward camera angles. It's also nice to see a fantasy film that isn't afraid of violence - the movie is rated R (though I think it probably deserved only a PG-13) and the ending is certainly not the sugar-coated Disney version of fairy tales you might be sick of.
Unfortunately, "Pan's Labyrinth" is severely flawed. The plot is predictable - perhaps unavoidable in a fantasy film, but it makes for a somewhat boring viewing experience. Even more unsettling, though, is the fact that I started feeling sympathy for the supposed antagonist, the cold-blooded Captain Vidal.
SPOILERS
This is a guy who literally sews his sliced mouth back together with a fishhook. He shoots his 12 year-old stepdaughter after she collaborates with the rebels and steals his son. Perhaps most fascinating is his apolitical stance - in his mind, the only difference between his side and theirs is that his side won the war. Whereas in Del Toro's mind this kind of character portrayal reads as "monster," to Western eyes, it definitely starts looking like "badass."
posted by Mulliga @ 12:20 AM
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