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Dvlos
Aug 26, 2003

"I came here to argue with you about a freaking television show!"
Directed by: Guillermo Del Toro
Starring: Ivana Baquero, Maribel Verdú, Sergi López,

Guillermo Del Toro's dark fantasy, El Laberinto Del Fauno (Pan's Labyrinth), is a hypnotizing film about a young girl who is traveling with her pregnant mother to her new home. A fascist military controlled town surrounded by forests, tall hills, and in the distance mountains.

Ofelia (Baquero) is quite unhappy about meeting her new step-father, the Captain, and overall total dictator of this small town. Ofiela is a book worm, loves fairy tales and fantasy stories, she often reads or creates these stories for her yet unborn brother, that is until her fairy tale starts to come to life.

There is a duality in this movie that works, and is intermingled well, we have the reality around Ofelia and her mother, that seems to happen almost without them at times. The "cruel and unforgiving" real world as described by Mercedes (Maribel Verdu) the maid of the household, and Ofelia's dark and sinister fairy tale. It almost feels as if both worlds run parrallel to each other, but where one story is moving down one line in one direction, Ofelia is on the other track going in the opposite direction.

To summarize this is one of the best fantasy movies I have ever seen, probably because its not a total fantasy, but a mix between fantasy and brutal reality, use of colors and filters really augment and highlight and draw out your emotions during certain scenes. Fantastic atmosphere, and superb pacing make this a film I want to see over and over again.

RATING: 5.0

PROS: Fantastic enveloping atmosphere, excellent pacing, unique and creative visuals/creature designs, best adult fairy tale I can think of
CONS: Uneven performances from the young lead, a bit too much foreshadowing for my taste, overall the cons don't distract too much

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: http://imdb.com/title/tt0457430/

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Kronikle
Jan 31, 2005

yeah well that's just like your opinion, man
One of the best movies I've seen in the past couple years. Having heard nothing about this movie prior to seeing it, I was expecting something Harry Potterish; a light-hearted fantasy perhaps.

Boy was I wrong. I was shocked at how unforgivingly gritty and brutal this film was. We have one world that takes place during the bloody aftermath of the Spanish civil war, and then the other, a gothic and dangerous fantasy world she escapes to. The entire time I was completely captivated by the violent (and often conflicting) storylines involved in both worlds.

Go see this movie!

5.5

ImDifferent
Sep 20, 2001
One of the best movies of the year. I don't have much to add that hasn't already been said, but the skillful juxtaposition of the two storylines really stands out, culminating in a final scene that lays the duality of the movie right out on the table for all to see.

Beautifully shot, with some really creative fantasy segments. I think it's debatable as to whether the reality-based part of the film needed to be quite as "gritty" as it was, but I wouldn't go quite so far as to call it gratuitous.

5.0

concerned mom
Apr 22, 2003

by Lowtax
Grimey Drawer
I thought this film was absolutely wonderful. It had a really tainted feel to it that only seemed to reflect on her surroundings. The direction and acting was very good and its just totally blown me away.

For anyone that's seen it: So do you think it really happened or was it all in her head as a means of escapism, like the story she told her brother in the womb? Well atleast she was happy either way I guess.

5/5.5

eckoelab
Apr 7, 2005

we are chaos in motion
quote "Guillermo del Toro delivers a unique, richly-imagined epic with Pan's Labyrinth, a gothic fairy tale set against the postwar repression of Franco's Spain."

So, managed to get into the theater and catch this last night. I can really say this will quickly become one of my top ten, if not 5, movies that I can think off. Everything about this film is magic, the acting, the sets, the story, the costumes, it has it all. This movie is not for the squeamish and is not a kids movie by any stretch of the imagination, I would say honestly don't bring a kid under 13 or 14 there as some of the scenes are a bit rough, but all in all it is not an over the top style of violence, and it meshes with the story quite well. Sometimes it is a hard film to catch onto, as there seems to be two different stories evolving at the same time, but once you get your feet and realize what is going on, you become absorbed quite quickly.

I though the Wall Street Journal had a good, collective review of the film:

Wall Street Journal
"The result of the intricate interplay is a fairy tale for adults that is violent, sometimes shocking, yet utterly engrossing. And eerily instructive; it deepens our emotional understanding of fascism, and of rigid ideology's dire consequences."

So in short, if you haven't gone to catch this, I would do so before it leaves the theaters. I think it is something that may need to be watch a second or third time due to many of the symbolic images and subtle plots points. All in all a very nice way to spend an evening, and worth the money.

cornface
Dec 28, 2006

by Lowtax

ImDifferent posted:

One of the best movies of the year. I don't have much to add that hasn't already been said, but the skillful juxtaposition of the two storylines really stands out, culminating in a final scene that lays the duality of the movie right out on the table for all to see.

I have to disagree. It seemed like two meandering movies crammed into one unsatisfying chunk. The girl's constant blunders made it hard to care about what happened to her, and the same goes for most of the other characters. Live, die, stare off into space, it didn't seem to matter one way or the other.

The fantasy segments were well done visually, and the creature design and makeup was outrageously cool.

I'd give it a 3.

ZenMaster
Jan 24, 2006

I Saved PC Gaming

I have to put in my two cents because I just walked in from seeing a late, late showing of this, and there aren't nearly enough glowing reviews in here (but there are a lot).

This is one dark and twisted fantasy movie. As a fairy tale, it's one of the most disturbing I've ever seen. It's Saw, the Shining, and Mother Goose mashed up in a stew. I walked away with a strange feeling of elation and sickness. The violence in this film is meant to look extremely realistic, and it works amazingly well to capture the horror of war. I am still scratching my head at how they accomplished some of the more gore laden scenes. Death, torture, and sadistic murders are thrown in your face quite regularly. Which is why the contrast of Ofelia's fantasy world works so well. Quite honestly, I was almost slipping into the "hurry up and get back to the fantasy quest" mode, as Del Toro portions out her tale in small, bite sized pieces. You constantly want more of the darkened underworld, tiring of the abject horror and brutality of our own world.

The underworld is described as a land of no pain or lies. The ending leaves you with an odd feeling that you've been led down a rather mournful and meandering pathway and you uneasily realize you aren't quite sure which destination you've arrived at. Hell or heaven. It's up to the viewer to decide.

The writing is tight, the actors are great, and Ofelia's father is one of the most despicible characters since Rob Roy's British nemesis.

Pros: Brutal, butterfly-inducing violence, with the contrasting darkness below and the darkness we live in. The mood was fantastic, and the special effects and make up were mind blowingly realistic at times.

Cons: I wanted more fantasy and less real world, simply because I wanted to see just how deep the labyrinth went. I found myself not caring as much about the humans as I did the inhabitants of the Underworld.

Final score: 5

See this as soon as you can.

ZenMaster fucked around with this message at 09:57 on Jan 16, 2007

AntifaSupersoldier
Jul 30, 2003

Reality is what you can get away with
Hell Gem
This was pretty much two movies put together and i really only cared about Ofelia's adventure. There wasn't enough of it and every time the movie went back to the story with The Captain and Mercedes i could care less i just wanted to see what was the next thing Ofelia got into. 4/5.5

Ville Valo
Sep 17, 2004

I'm waiting for your call
and I'm ready to take
your six six six
in my heart
This is one of the best movie worlds I've ever felt drawn in to. This is cinematic perfection, and there's no way I'll be sleeping easy tonite.

5.5/5

Papercut
Aug 24, 2005

The quickest substitution in the history of the NBA
I agree with The_Cack, both in his assessment of the two stories and in his overall score. The movie was very good, and did a great job of intermingling the two worlds and stories. But I just thought the "fantasy" aspect of the movie fell short, and was greatly overshadowed by the "real" aspect. Had the movie been a half hour longer with an additional fantasy journey for Ofelia, I think it would have been much stronger. As it was, I came out pleased, but by no means blown away.

Pros: technically brilliant (especially the audio), great visuals, nice integration of the fantasy with reality

Cons: too short, not enough of the fantasy world, yet ANOTHER Franco escapism piece from a Spanish director

4.0/5

TedKoppel
Nov 30, 2002

They sure look ripe to me.
This is a good example of a great movie being sold the wrong way for the right reasons.

I'll go further without spoilers in a minute, but really, if you're reading this and are genuinely on the fence about seeing it, just read this one thing and then go see it: this is not really a fantasy movie. It is more a coming of age story set during the Spanish Civil War. It's being sold the other way around: a fantasy movie set in the backdrop of the Spanish Civil War. There, now go see it and stop reading.

Or not. The reason I cite this as damaging to the movie is that when it was ending, I realized that there was a question that was supposed to be implied from the very beginning: are any of the fantasy passages even real? It's certainly not an original question for a movie, but, I suspect because of the way it was sold, or maybe because there are so many fantasy movies these days that the genre is not viewed with the skepticism it once was, I didn't think to question it. But the question is implied; from the very beginning, Ofelia sits, reading fairy tales and becoming lost in the world. Her adventures occur when she is alone. The movie seemed to want us to be asking, is this simply the escapism of a child with an active imagination, or is this really happening? But not a bit of that occurred to me.

Fortunately, none of these things particularly detract from the movie (the plot of which is adequately summed up in other posts, so I'll refrain), in my opinion, though I think it at least partially explains the reactions of others who have reviewed this, wanting more of the fantasy that they were, frankly, lead to expect. Pan's Labyrinth is, at its heart, a movie about fairy tales and how they relate to our lives. You remember all the fairy tale rules, don't you? The flavor of it, anyway? Turn around three times, open the door that wasn't there before, walk through a room full of jewels, don't touch any of them, don't look back, find the item you were sent for, etc., etc. Once you're an adult, these sorts of stories hold the power of nostalgia, but not much else, frankly. What, you find yourself wondering, is the point of all this? Why the arbitrary rules?

What I found exceptionally satisfying about Pan's Labyrinth was a coherent answer for that question, which I will only partially explain here. The world of fantasy, the movie argues with its dual storylines, is no more arbitrary than the real world. The obvious comparison here is the war, Franco, and of course the Captain. But more subtle points abound. The sexist nature of life in any nation at that time is touched upon repeatedly, for example. Is what is considered proper conduct for a woman at the time any less arbitrary than the rules of a fairy tale? Especially in the eyes of a child?

The plotlines of Pan's Labyrinth initially seem separate, but are drawn together with questions like this and parallels between the worlds, some obvious, some more subtle (for this reason, I'm dying to see the movie again to see what I might have missed).

A couple of other notes: Benecio Del Toro has always excelled with visuals, but outdoes himself here, using the camera in new ways. The movie is gorgeous, and the work done by Doug Jones as Pan and The Pale Man is simply awesome. This isn't a case of motion capture suits; the guy actually went and climbed into these insane costumes and spoke a foreign language with an accent to a Spanish audience. They don't give awards for that, so he's worth singling out. I was surprised to see complaints of Ivana Baquero's performance at all; I thought she was remarkable, but then again, I don't speak Spanish, so if she was stilted or anything along those lines, I probably wouldn't know. And Sergi Lopez is scarier than his character in Dirty Pretty Things, which is quite a feat.

Overall, 4.5/5. Bear in mind that I pretty much never give out 5s or 5.5s.

Corb3t
Jun 7, 2003

Just got back from seeing it. The theaters gave me the run around - it was listed on the site and at the newspaper at one location, went there, and they said it was in another. Doh! Finally made it on time and I really enjoyed this.

I also think this is marketed very badly. Hell, it's even listed here as Fantasy but it really isn't. The trailers made it look like Fantasy. But it really wasn't. I did enjoy the fantasy aspects more then anything though and I rather liked the ending.

4/5

Secks
Oct 10, 2002

The city is alive tonight
Easily one of the most gorgeous and engaging stories I have ever seen on the big screen. Made me feel the entire spectrum of emotions from happiness to sadness to anger to relief. Beautiful creatures, a chilling villain and a perfect painting of an innocent little girl.

5.5 and I only vote it that because I couldn't vote higher.

LeosBoots
Aug 26, 2005

The mail is the one final hope for resurrecting a dead planet from its ashes, and the letter carriers are the brave soldiers of God in this righteous crusade.
I went in knowing nothing about the movie, except the previews looked cool and it got five stars here. I didn't actually read the reviews.

It was a great visual movie that was extremely engaging. It was definitely not what I expected. The part that had me afraid the entire movie was the faun. The way he talked, his movements, and his demand for obedience left a terrifying question in my mind. Was he really a good guy? What were his motives?

I also thought that the justice the Captain met at the end was very fitting. For a man who's sole purpose in life was to continue the legacy of his father and himself, a man worked so hard and killed so many for the sake of his son, the ultimate justice is that his son will never even know his name.

The tasks for Ofelia, namely, the creatures she had to face, were very scary but had a sense of curiosity around them. I wanted to know more about them.

My problem is, the movie left too many questions. Perhaps if I watched it again, the answer could be found in foreshadowing and symbolism.

For one, what was the deal with the watch? It looked like there would be a deeper meaning for it at first, but then it just didn't happen.

Another question: it really looked like there was going to be a very sinister purpose for Ofelias purpose in the fairy world. It seemed the child would have a more important role. This didn't happen and I want to know why.

The last question that was on everyones mind was this: Was it all real? The flower that bloomed where Ofelias dress was hung indicated yes, which was a very satisfying answer. [spoiler]

2 points for the fantasy world and the creature design
2 points for the story of the "real world"
1 point for the ending, which left a feeling of justice and a good feeling of fulfillmnet
-.5 for the underdeveloped part, [spoiler] The watch, the brothers role in Ofelias world, and the baby eater could have used more of an explanation or backstory. There just didn't seem to be an answer for these.


4.5/5

lan sam
Jan 17, 2005

'Ey Holmes
I thought the real world parts were good but completely overshadowed by the amazing fantasy parts. What could have been an otherwise alright story about some fascists and stuff was ruined by the incredible fantasy parts, of which there weren't nearly enough of. The movie didn't focus enough on the fantasy. It would have been better off focusing on either one without the other.

3/5 for the reality story

5/5 for the fantasy story (mostly just the sequence with the handeye baby eating thing. That was incredible)


3.5/5 for the movie as a whole.

Shmorky
Nov 6, 2002

IT'S TIM
I was totally expecting some faggoty-rear end Harry Potter poo poo (the explanation is magic!) but I got so much more. The story was really interesting. The captain is a great bad guy that you love to hate. Even in the real world setting he is much like a fantasy character. He's this powerful, dark man, with evil plots, and he'll do anything to get his way. The little girl is the hero here. At the end you're left wondering if the fantasy world was all in her head, but you are never told this so the moment isn't spoiled. This wont appeal to hard-core fantasy fans, but it will be a surprise for those of us that never really cared for the genre. It IS indeed an adult fairy tale, but not in the sense that it's got all that grisly violence, no... It's got a deep, meaningful story that kids and kid-like fantasy lovers might not get (no offense to you fantasy lovers.)

5.0

Dipes
Oct 24, 2003
The faun character was excellent. I loved the art direction in this movie. The violence was unapologetic and exciting. Recommended to anyone who enjoys fantasy.

4.5/5

About the reality of the fantasy and the symbolism of the watch.You know that the fantasy world is real because Ofelia's mother lost the baby when she burned the mandrake. The watch was the Captain's father's watch, which he smashed on a rock at the moment of his death on the battlefield. This is why the captain asked for his son to know the time of his death -- to carry on the family tradition in a way, and to honor his father.

Bulbous Goiter
Sep 15, 2003
Whatchu' Talkin Bout?
I agree with TedKoppel regarding his comment of it being sold the wrong way for the right reasons. I originally went into this film having heard little about it other than watching the trailer. From the trailer the viewer cannot be blamed for thinking it’s mainly a fantasy movie however, as has already been established in this thread, it’s a lot more than that.

There are effectively two separate stories, a fantasy world seen through the eyes of Ofelia (Ivana Baquero, who I just found out is only 12 years old), and the “real world”, which is very violent and sometimes disturbing place, in the setting of the Spanish Civil War.

The fantasy world is spectacular, everything (visuals, audio..seriously EVERYTHING) about it is amazing and I was always eagerly waiting the switch back. That said, the “real world” was still fantastically done and the Captain was the epitome “bad guy you love to hate”. I almost found myself wishing they would torture him more, a simple bullet to the head wasn’t enough! I guess he did get a his cheek slashed open, so that is something..
I don’t agree with the people that state the film should have focused more on one world or the other. I believe the balance was just right for the length of the film. I’d be interested to see an extended edition though, if only to see more of the amazing visuals of the fantasy world.

Pros: Fantastic atmosphere and environment created for both worlds, with an equally excellent integration of contrast between them. Unique creature and fantasy ideas the “hand-eye-creature” scene was amazing .

Cons: Could be a little longer if only to show us more of the fantasy world.

5/5


I’m still not convinced about whether or not it was real. The captain never see’s Pan even though Ofelia is talking to him when he walks in. Also the chalk outline Ofelia draws on the walls remain even after they disappear to her. On the other hand the mother gets sick again when the mandrake root is burned, resulting in the mother’s death. There is also the ending with the flower. Having only just got back from seeing it I will think it over for a bit longer before coming to a final conclusion :) .

de_dust2
Jan 15, 2007
Karjia is a nice person and got me this account.

cornface posted:

The girl's constant blunders made it hard to care about what happened to her, and the same goes for most of the other characters. Live, die, stare off into space, it didn't seem to matter one way or the other.
Fully agreeing here. The story didnt phase me as much as it should have, I suppose, as I didnt feel much when I watched it. The scenes of the other world were well done, of course, but Im not a person who watches a movie for graphics or sound quality. Worth a watch, but not worth the hype.
Overall for me- 2.5/5
On account of wether or not the phantasy scenes really happened, its obvious (or maybe not?) the makers of the movie *intended* for people to be stumped. The scenes, for example, with the mandrake and the baby dieing instantly, and when Ophalia is running from the General and the roots behind her cover her path. This is contrasted by when, for example, the General finds her and sees her talking to nothing.

Bubba Smith
Sep 27, 2004

Is tonight the greatest moment in Dominick Cruz's life?

No.

The greatest moment in my life was realizing that I didn't need a belt to be happy.
I liked it.

Really I just hope people keep saying that this movie is the best movie that's ever been produced or whatever. Not because I believe that, but because everyone says that about Children of Men too. Really, neither film was that impressive, but I figure Pan's Labyrinth is the lesser of two evils. Or two over-hyped films.

Umm... how was the Captain still walking around by the end of the film? I mean, come on. Ya'll know what I'm talking about.

Also, the scene with the eye-handed pale dude was really cool, but didn't make any sense at all. I was also bummed that when Ofelia tells Pan that she is going to be locked up and won't be able to leave, Pan gives her a piece of chalk and tells her to find another way. Any decent story teller could have found out some cool way to make Ofelia meet the pale dude again and have some kind of resolution.

And obviously it was all made up inside of her head. Come on, think about it for a while. I know a lot of stuff happened, like in Fight Club, that couldn't make sense unless what we were seeing was really happening. Regardless of that, everything was just made up inside of her head. She died, everyone died, except for Mercedes, the one mother fucker that didn't help anyone. That's the real moral to this story.

Ottergiblets
Oct 17, 2005
You were always so forgetful...
I went in with a relatively open mind about this movie that I'd heard a few rumors about. Soon I found out just how much deeper it was than anything I expected. During the course of the movie, I was at the edge of my seat, hinging on every scene. By the time it was over, neither my friend nor I could move, but merely sat there a few minutes taking in the music and making sense of everything. The most powerful cinematic experience I've had in years. Excellent acting, atmosphere, music, plot, everything. The best movie I've seen in a very long time.
5/5

As for my personal interpretation,
I think people forget one of the most important thematic points: the captain's desire to have a child to remember his name and carry on his legacy. He will die, but his story will live on. Story is more important than reality. Personally, I love the movie as a sort of hybrid...the story we hear IS her fantasy, complete with all the fantastical elements as well as the real ones. In the end, she died and in reality just died, yet we see the end of her story as she has imagined it, with her living on for years and years. In the end, she is dead, but dead with a happy thought, in the comfort of a loved one (Mercedes). She dies peacefully, if tragically, and escapes from her harsh life.

At the same time, in her story, she lives on and on. The fact that it is only her fantasy doesn't really matter, in the same way any story we read is like its own little world, not phyiscally real but 'real' to us in some strange way. Isn't history itself a 'story'? As someone who loves stories(don't we all?), I like to think of her imagined life as a world unto itself, not real in essence but real in idea. Though the captain tries to use his son to 'live on' in memory, Ofelia lives on not through the hopeless strands of memory, but in her own story. It is together both more real and less real than his dream.

The ending become a surreal one, blurring reality and fantasy in a beautiful, if vague, mix that personally strikes me more than any concrete one.

Helmacron
Jun 3, 2005

looking down at the world
I honestly feel a little bitter. I feel like you're all lying to someone and I got caught in the middle.

So deceived, I went and saw this abysmal movie. It's obvious we're talking about the same movie, plot elements being the same, but there was very little that was good in this movie.

It had beautiful scenery. Beautiful direction. Beautiful character design.

But overshadowing everything beautiful every step of the way was the acting and it was terrible. The characters themselves were pixellized 2D sprites. I felt every second of this movie. There was nothing in me for any of the characters. The child was an idiot. The end was to be emotional, but her constant blundering foolishness made her an empty character. That scene on the second mission where she thought to disobey the rules was plain stupid. I mean, for hecks sake, there was no trickery, no conning, no reason for her to do any of that. She had no personality.

The captain was this unexplained monster. The mother weak. Nothing was fleshed out. Nothing was explained.

It's just a plain and unconvincing movie with excellent art design.

Avoid it. Go watch Babel. And if you want to risk your money on a movie, go watch The Fountain.

ian
Aug 12, 2003
The cinematography was fantastic but the entire product left me a little underwhelmed. It felt incomplete. But I still have to give it a 4.0/5.0. Best film I've seen in awhile aside from Children of Men.

The setting was immaculate, that's what I mean by cinematography. You felt like you were in Franco's Spain. I would classify it as magical realism, because of the mixing of the rational and the irrational -- the Faun and others were never presented as being anything except a little abnormal. The way that Ofelia's mother (or was it the caretaker Mercedes?) talked about Fauns made it seem completely reasonable.

The best part of the movie to me was the Captain. The way that they presented him was great, really giving you a psychological understanding of him. Ofelia's mother is tortured but not really explained. Mercedes, her brother, the doctor, none of these characters are really given a psychological treatment. And that was fine. But watching the Captain and how inner demons affected him (father's death), the sheer brutality of what he did as a result, that was the most engaging aspect for me.

ian fucked around with this message at 03:22 on Jan 28, 2007

Zwabu
Aug 7, 2006

I just saw this. Beautiful, haunting and dark.

As far as whether the fantasy elements and mythology are real--my personal feeling is that like in much art, it's actually ambiguous. You can see this film and feel one way about it, think back on it a week later, and see it a different way. This is a strength of the film.

I think the interpretation that the fantasy elements existed only in the mind of the girl is completely legitimate, but even that interpretation still leaves open the question of whether they are "real".

I thought the cruelty and violence was integral to the story and were not gratuitous at all, unlike in "Apocalypto" where I felt they WERE excessive and gratuitous.

It's amazing, when seeing so much quality child acting like in this film, the Narnia film etc. how someone with such a huge budget like George Lucas had could commit such hackery as he did with the kid who played the young Anakin Skywalker, LOL.

While the Captain was strong as a "real world" character, he also had the qualities of a Grimm Fairy Tale Wicked Stepfather as well.

I agree that the marketing is totally misleading, trying to rope in the bigger "escapist entertainment" buck by passing it off as a straight-up fantasy like "Labyrinth" or "Legend".

Overall 5.5. One of the best films I've seen in the last few years.


While very cool and scary, I did find the Banquet Golem scene rather annoying. I would have figured the depictions of the Golem stabbing and sacrificing little kids on the wall to have been sufficient motivation to follow the drat faun's instructions to a "T"! Especially when the fairies were like, "Um, ix-nay on the apes-gray!"

fatasskee
Sep 11, 2005
I also knew nothing going in to see this movie before hand. I saw the trailor only a few minutes earlier and i was thinking it would be more on the fantasy side possibly like the old Labrinth movie with david bowie. I really enjoyed this movie and it's jump from reality to fantasy. It was dark and dreary, yet imaginitive and exciting. It kept me tense the entire time wondering if it was all real or just a mere illusion to a tormented girl. I do now think it is supposed to be real, and the only thing that made think ofelia may be crazy was when the captain did not see the faun. Only because he had seen the plant growing under the mothers bed and that was supposed to be mythical too. The mother held it in her hand and threw it into the fire, and only then did she get sick again. Hmm.. I had many questions about the scene of ofelia in the underground with the white baby eater. I cant decide if the reason she ate the grapes had a purpose or if she merely was "tranced by the evil".
Overall i loved this movie and its one of the best films ive seen in a long time. I'll be seeing it again!
I give this movie a 4.0/5.0

soapboxcritic
Oct 29, 2005

"Who ze shit is Kingsley Zissou?"

Loved this movie.

At first I was only mildly entertained and disappointed at how incredibly cliche everything in the fantasy world: The repitition of 3, going against orders while under a semi-trance (the grapes) and causing a near death escape and being told she'd never have a chance to be immortal ever only to be given a second chance, and the whole "chosen one" idea.

But then the ending came.

It all fit into place. These cliche's recurred in the girl's fantasy stories and tehrefore were in her own personal fantasies, it is this point that i think is the strongest evidence FOR it being a made up fantasy, the director showed the escape that stories can give, very similar to the ideas in Terry Gilliam's Brazil.


5/5

GuyGizmo
Feb 26, 2003

stupid babies need the most attention
I thought this movie was great. In addition to the many things others have said about it in this thread, I really liked the ambiguity. Especially with the nature of fantasy and reality in this movie, my own interpretation is that it doesn't matter whether or not it was all real. What we have is two different ways of looking at reality - one of which is Ofelia's, and the other is for everyone else. Despite the fact that there's evidence one way or the other as to whether or not Ofelia's fantasy was real, it's not about finding conclusive evidence because both of them are equally true. (Kind of like a Calvin and Hobbes sort of thing.) I've always liked works that try to inspire the viewer to move beyond normal notions of true and false, which I feel this movie did. The natural thing for most people to do is probably to try to sort the world of the movie into some kind of concrete reality where we know certain things happened and others didn't, but I feel the only real answer is to move beyond concrete reality. And for that reason (plus all the others) I really liked this movie.

4.5/5

Russell_Nash
Mar 3, 2006
Was it just me or did the fantasy story/conflict have about nothing to do with the reality conflict?
Ok. the captain is a huge dick. We get it. Anything else, please?

It could have used a lot more exposition
do these 3 random things, for some reason unknown to anyone, and then you will die

On the plus side the visuals were very impressive. The violence was very graphic and felt very real without being too gruesome of over the top. i also really enjoyed the scene with the eye-hand creature although I have no idea what the relevance of it was

Overall: 2/5
Visuals alone: 4/5

Rageaholic
May 31, 2005

Old Town Road to EGOT

Just saw it and absolutely loved it. I thought Children of Men was the best movie I'd seen in the last few years, but after this it's clearly a tie. Definitley the best fantasy movie I've ever seen (even though it wasn't just a fantasy movie). The story was really engrossing and I never once felt bored. Something about the plot or the cinematography always held my interest.

5/5

Four-Twenty
Feb 10, 2005

no fear
I liked it alot.
It started out, like someone said, like a typical "harry potter"-esque fantasy but then the captain smashed that guys head with a bottle of wine, and it just kept on going until half of his face was smashed off. The graphics were great(the light for example), I liked the "special effects". I totally understand why imdb gives this movie 8.5/10

5/5.5

Four-Twenty
Feb 10, 2005

no fear
Quote != Edit

Barack HUSSEIN
Mar 20, 2003

Screams from the haters, got a nice ring to it

I guess every superhero need his theme music
This movie came so highly recommended, I put effort into learning as little about the movie as possible before seeing it, and it definitely paid off. Once the Capitan was introduced, I knew I was in for something amazing. This movie is definitely one of my favorites.

5.5/5

AlbertGator
Nov 16, 2004

Alligator for Hire
I just saw this movie tonight. I really liked it, although it doesn't necessarily stand out in my mind as awesome for any one reason, I have to say it was a lot more satisfying than a lot of things I've seen. The only thing that really bothered me through the whole movie was that the kid kept managing to get away for who knows how long whenever she wanted to but other than that it all felt right.

I came into it hoping there would be more fantasy than I knew there would be (I had read info on it previously) but ended up enjoying the real-world storyline more than I thought I would. It's a solid movie, and you'll feel more cultured for having watched it in Spanish.

4.5/5

wildmamboqueen
May 31, 2001

mad about the mage
The Great Twist
I love this movie technically. I really do.

But jesus a cristo (bad spanish) what a downer.

I bawled my eyes out and it was unrelenting. The "farie tale" is just that.

That's a good thing, many people aren't familiar with that aspect, it's a tale that need to be told.

Schwarzwald
Jul 27, 2004

Don't Blink
Pan's labyrinth was as dark a film as I've ever seen. It was quite emotional.

5.0

keveh
Sep 14, 2004

If you have a problem.....
I watched this movie at the weekend and both me and my girlfriend enjoyed it.

I don't think it was as good as some people have made it out to be, but I would still recommend it to everybody.

It felt like watching two movies rolled in to one, the mood and the filming in certain scenes were worlds aparts, which added to it's quirkyness.

It got off to a slowish start, and seemed like it would stay that way until the captain started smashing that guys face with the bottle. That was such a shocker, you weren't expecting that and I literally said out loud "woah...woah!....WOAH.....WOAH!".

From then on the story/stories gained pace and the film was enjoyable.

3.5/5

Shammypants
May 25, 2004

Let me tell you about true luxury.

I was really disappointed with this movie. I'm not a film connoisseur by any stretch of the imagination. Sometimes I like movies of poor quality simply because they make me feel good. Other times I have disliked a story but have appreciated the cinematography, acting etc. As a film hobbyist, though, I do enjoy seeing as many genres as possible and discussing films with family and friends. Following this film two things happened. First, neither my friend nor I discussed it. It ended and I pretty much just said "Welp, that's it then I guess. Guess it's time to go." Perhaps it was because the ending was about as cliche as it gets. However, I think it had to do with the second thing that happened after the film. Later that night and the following day when trying to reflect on the movie all I could remember were the violent moments. The random and yet captivating bottle to the face of the innocent man scene, the entirely cliche (to the Nth power) torture of the stutterer and the completely unnecessary way in which everyone killed on the battlefield required two additional bullets to the head.

Some people might disagree with me, and they are free to do so, but this movie was a huge let down for how much it was hyped.

3.0/5.0

Shammypants fucked around with this message at 04:39 on Feb 7, 2007

Underground
Nov 29, 2005
I loved the balance of this movie between "true" dark fantasy and the real world. The elements of fear and adventure of both worlds collide perfectly. I only wish there were more fantasy movies of this mood and caliber to speak of. This movie has probably the most outstanding performance by a young actress I've ever seen, and of any actor/actress of recent years for that matter. And of course the special effects were used just right to provide that eerily surreal atmosphere. Simply beautiful in the full spectrum of the word.

5/5

lauratiny
Mar 20, 2005

I went with my friend to go see this. I for one am all about fantasy movies but he is not into them (nor is he into reading subtitles) at all but we made a deal that if I would go see Alphadog with him, he would go see this with me. Anyway...after seeing it, he admitted that he absolutely loved it. Of course, as did I. Not only was it beautifully made (not just the fantasy parts but pretty much the entire movie), it was real and sad and wonderful. I definitely cried at the end. It was almost impossible not to.

I highly recommend this movie to everyone ever.

I give it a
4.5/5

only because I had expectations for a purely fantasy movie and it really only consisted of about 1/3 of the movie. And those scenes were SO cool looking that I just wanted more and more. But the rest of the movie didn't suck at all so I wasn't all that dissapointed.

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Loveboat
Nov 15, 2005

by Lowtax
Pretty void from an actual plot, but the movie is beautiful and at least one character has depth (Vidal).

3/5.

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