2007-01-17

zustifer: (Barbara)
2007-01-17 01:13 pm

Pan's Labyrinth

Pan's Labyrinth, Guillermo del Toro. Jan 14th, 4:15 pm. View count: 1.

I'm going to keep this spoilerless, because it's still in theatres and all.

I don't think I can quite agree with optic's assessment that Pan's Labyrinth is something Gilliam could ever make; his darkness is not nearly so unflinching and visceral. It's more existential/mental, really. But the comparison should definitely remain, as the whole fairy tale + real life marriage is pretty Gilliam-friendly, I completely agree.

This is a really well-done movie. The fantasy/reality line is well-walked, and all the characters are realized to a good level. It's sort of messy and confusingly motivated in some spots, but I think this is okay. I probably need to see this again, because it is dense and interesting, but I shrink somewhat from the idea of doing so because of the dark, dark violence. Del Toro is not afraid of showing violence. There is no last-second cutting away, and almost no blocked views. There is also no balancing humor.

I will close with some stuff a lady sitting near us said, that chmmr caught after the movie: "It's so violent! It's not appropriate for kids at all. But the brother was so cute."
This is more depressing than the movie, and also much less interesting.