Pan's Labyrinth
December 19th, 2006
No interesting links to post this evening, as I was out seeing Guillermo del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth.
Anyone who has listened to Mark Kermode's film review spot on Radio 5 lately knows what he thinks: he reckons del Toro has delivered the Citizen Kane of fantasy films. I'm not sure that I'd quite go that far, but that's mostly because I think Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy deserves that title for reinventing the large-scale modern fantasy film.
That said, for my money Pan's Labyrinth is comfortably the best fantasy film since Jackson's epic trilogy, a fairy tale featuring some beautiful creature effects work and strong, assured performances from all the main characters. The star of the show is 12 year-old Ivana Baquero as Ofelia, a young girl who finds herself torn between the demands of a scary-yet-oddly-enticing fantasy world and the real-life anxieties of life in post-civil war Spain.
If Pan's Labyrinth was an English-language release it'd get the wide release it deserves. As it is, it seems to be stuck on the art-house/cult movies circuit, so del Toro will probably have to settle for the knowledge that discerning audiences recognise his talents. Roll on Hellboy 2: The Golden Army.
December 20th, 2006 at 00:41
I must say I was underwhelmed when I saw this movie. I had pretty low expectations to start with, but it really didn't do a lot for me – and I still find it difficult when people are exclaiming praise for this movie.
Each to their own, of course, but I just found the overall story pretty bland. It had it moments, that's for sure, but just failed to deliver.
I liked the guy who appeared in the room of fruit and such. That was eerie.