What a darn film.
When I moved in with Marna and her daughter Ariana I was the big bad father figure that Ariana might have used her imagination to escape...this movie is so crystal clear to me on that level it is frightening!
We saw this as the second half of a double header with Smoking Aces. Aces had the advantage of DLP vs the dim film showing of Pan...and even in the darkness the violence of Pan's implied torture rang truer than say... Aces "sitting on a running chainsaw" scene. Yeah, that is all the review you are going to get of Smoking Aces.
Pan's Labyrinth is a terrific film. Imaginative, restless and engaging with a delightful young star.
This is more than a film about childhood. There are politics afoot here, and while little sympathy can be mustered for the Army, the rebels prove themselves "the same as the old boss"..
Guillermo Del Toro tropes are all over this film. Chronos is revisited with the watch, Mimic gets a nod with our chittering Pied Piper..Even Blade 2 gets an homage..but I won't spoil that one!
The director skill has been on display throughout his career, and if you have not found him, this is a terrific introduction. Oh yeah, it is in Spanish with subtitles--and playing in a megaplex. There is hope!
Enjoy!
Looks like you caught most of the strongest films that came out last year, which was a challenging thing to accomplish. While some people complained that 2006 was a slow year for films, I felt that was only true of the first half of the year. Once the fall started, it seemed like there was always something good playing.
ReplyDeleteI made the effort to see Infernal Affairs too. Great foreign film.