Pan’s Labyrinth - Movie Review
Okay, so I saw the much talked about “Pan’s Labyrinth” yesterday evening and I must say . . . I was surprised at how much I liked it.
I rented it because it won awards for its makeup and special effects. I also heard it was written from a sort of fantasy/childlike perspective. I knew there would be violence going into it, and that was not all that alluring to me. (Same director as Blade 2) Nonetheless, I wanted to see what all the hoopla was about, so I picked it up, along with Night at the Museum, Music and lyrics, Epic Movie, (also very good) and Like Mike for my son.
Pan’s Labyrinth consists of two interwoven stories: one based in fantasy, the other realistic fiction. It takes place during the Spanish Civil War and the “Captain” is concerned about his “wife” and the son she is to give birth to any day. (She is really just some woman he chose almost randomly to bear his offspring). The Captain kills numerous people early on in th movie. These scenes are really bad and not for kids. At any rate, the pawn mother has a 9 year old daughter and she is the main character around which all the events revolve. The Captain shows her no affection and even seems to resent her.
The young girl tarvels to a secret place after the calling of a fairie. There she learns she has a higher purpose than her life on Earth and is sent back to perform various tasks.
The real world scenes are filmed in dark realism. It is excellent cinematography. The fantasy worlds are even better and much deserving of the Oscar they have earned. It’s like being inside a realistic fairie tale and experiencing it as a child. The creatures are amazing and the scenery breathtaking. I recommend the movie for this aspect alone (though the story is better than average too).
The ending gave me mixed feelings. I’m curious what others think. I won’t get into detail about it but suffice it to say: I enjoyed the fantasy sequences, tolerated the real world gratuitous violence sequences, and had no opinion on the ending sequence. (but I had an ever so slight gravitation toward dislike) All things considered, I give it 3 out of 5 stars. Worth renting.
Go see it and tell me what you think. If you’ve seen it, do you agree with my review? Why or why not?
I agree with what you wrote and I was surprised I liked Pan’s Labyrinth too.