"El Laberinto del Fauno"
Jan. 21st, 2007 08:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
orangerfulThis morning, ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
blu_harvest, verdatum, and I went to see 'Pan's Labrynth'. What a movie. People toss the term "modern fairytale" around a lot, but this time they are actually telling the truth! The directing is solid, the acting fantastic, the special effects all so natural. You never *feel* like you're watching a special effect, it just looks real. It all fits in this world that has been created.
The story is so simple, it's deceiving - young Ofelia finds a labyrnth behind the old mill and goes to investigate. She finds out that she might be a long lost fairy princess, but she will have to complete three tasks before she will be allowed back into the fairy realm. Easy enough. Except for the fact that the world around her is that of fascist Spain and she and her mother are living with a Captain who is trying to wipe out the local guerilla rebels. Having these two stories run side by side gave the film a level of depth I'm still processing.
There are some icky moments, and since the film is in Spanish, you'll spend (if you're like me) a small portion with your hands over your eyes, trying to peek thru just to read the subtitles but not see the grossness going on. Though the sound effects were pretty uncomfortable to hear on their own in some of these moments.
Honestly, this movie is still running around my brain right now and I can't find the words to describe it. If you want to see something different, then check it out. It's beautiful and sad and hopeful and tragic and magical all in one. It's probably not for everyone (I was surprised that it had such a solid rating on Rotten Tomatoes!) but it's worth a try.
I toldblu_harvest afterwards that I probably wouldn't watch it again, but I just saw a trailer for it on TV and I actually though "I'd like to take another look at that."
blu_harvest, verdatum, and I went to see 'Pan's Labrynth'. What a movie. People toss the term "modern fairytale" around a lot, but this time they are actually telling the truth! The directing is solid, the acting fantastic, the special effects all so natural. You never *feel* like you're watching a special effect, it just looks real. It all fits in this world that has been created.The story is so simple, it's deceiving - young Ofelia finds a labyrnth behind the old mill and goes to investigate. She finds out that she might be a long lost fairy princess, but she will have to complete three tasks before she will be allowed back into the fairy realm. Easy enough. Except for the fact that the world around her is that of fascist Spain and she and her mother are living with a Captain who is trying to wipe out the local guerilla rebels. Having these two stories run side by side gave the film a level of depth I'm still processing.
There are some icky moments, and since the film is in Spanish, you'll spend (if you're like me) a small portion with your hands over your eyes, trying to peek thru just to read the subtitles but not see the grossness going on. Though the sound effects were pretty uncomfortable to hear on their own in some of these moments.
Honestly, this movie is still running around my brain right now and I can't find the words to describe it. If you want to see something different, then check it out. It's beautiful and sad and hopeful and tragic and magical all in one. It's probably not for everyone (I was surprised that it had such a solid rating on Rotten Tomatoes!) but it's worth a try.
I told
blu_harvest afterwards that I probably wouldn't watch it again, but I just saw a trailer for it on TV and I actually though "I'd like to take another look at that."