Pan's Labyrinth (SPOILERS)

Cafe Society
1

Saw it tonight at 7; the 4pm showing was inexplicably sold out, even though I haven’t heard anyone else talking about this movie at all, it hasn’t been advertised on TV or even trailered, and I haven’t seen a single review of it crop up yet. From the perversely diverse deluge of frat boys, grannies, confused families, and other achetypes pouring out of the sold-out showing, I can’t help but conclude that I’ve somehow totally missed the fact that it’s on the cover of Newsweek this month, or Oprah just said it’s her favorite new movie or something.

Anyway, I thought the movie was quite gorgeous and engrossing. I’ve been eagerly following it for about a year, and while it turned out quite a bit differently than I expected and imagined, it was still pretty great.

My biggest surprise was that the vast majority of the movie seemed to be a historical drama, while the fantastic stuff involving the faun, the labyrinth, the creature with eyes on its hands, and the mandrake root really ended up getting quite a small slice of screen time. Since the actual conflict with the capitan ended up wholly standing on its own as an engrossing drama, I didn’t mind, but I really expected much more weirdness and fantasy on screen rather than merely acting to set up conflicts between Ofelia and the captain.

I also thought that she looked exactly like Miette from The City of Lost Children, to the point where it was kind of eerie.

My only complaint regards the ending, which I wish had been more ambiguous than it was. When the captain sees Ofelia talking to nobody, it makes it conclusively clear that the whole thing is in her head rather than in the real world, which means that her death is truly her death rather than her escaping her mortal body to return to the underworld. Showing the whole thing up to be her fantasy/delusion kind of kills it, and I wish they had left it more ambiguous.

2

Review from the New York Times.

3

I guess the reviews are slowly starting to trickle in. It’s weird that it was sold out, though, when the much bigger movies weren’t.

4

This was one of five movies we saw yesterday, and I agree with your word engrossing. It’s also one of the most depressing movies I’ve seen this year. It’s very dark and dismal.

I loved it, I did, but I don’t know if I want to see it again.

It’s not a kid’s movie, that’s for sure. It’s very violent and full of hateful people and horrific actions. The fantasy bit is, as VCO3 says, just a very small part of the film, and even it is dark and scary.

[QUOTE=VCO3]
My only complaint regards the ending, which I wish had been more ambiguous than it was. When the captain sees Ofelia talking to nobody, it makes it conclusively clear that the whole thing is in her head rather than in the real world, which means that her death is truly her death rather than her escaping her mortal body to return to the underworld. Showing the whole thing up to be her fantasy/delusion kind of kills it, and I wish they had left it more ambiguous.
[/QUOTE]

Personally, since there are no such things as fairies and fauns, I had no problem with this. If Ofelia’s imagination/mental illness(?) helped her cope, especially in her dying moments, the fantasy was all for the good.

5

[QUOTE=VCO3]
I guess the reviews are slowly starting to trickle in.
[/QUOTE]

99% at Rottentomatoes as of this posting. Not too shabby.

6

I saw it a month or so ago, and thought it one of the best films of the decade. As to it selling out without publicity in the US, it’s been garnering rave reviews since Cannes in the territories it’s already been in. All hail the power of the 'net, maybe?

7

I saw an interview with the director and two other Mexican film makers today, in which he said something like ‘Death is the end of power for a dictator, but the beginning of it for a martyr.’

I did think the ending, and the whole film, was beautiful.

8

[QUOTE=VCO3]
Saw it tonight at 7; the 4pm showing was inexplicably sold out, even though I haven’t heard anyone else talking about this movie at all, it hasn’t been advertised on TV or even trailered, and I haven’t seen a single review of it crop up yet.
[/QUOTE]

It was Stephen King’s favorite movie of 2006, according to his monthly column in Entertainment Weekly. That’s the only place I’ve heard about it. It won’t play anywhere near me, but I’ve put it in the Netflix queue.

Could King or EW have that much influence? Be interesting to know where people heard about it.

9

[QUOTE=VCO3]
Saw it tonight at 7; the 4pm showing was inexplicably sold out, even though I haven’t heard anyone else talking about this movie at all, it hasn’t been advertised on TV or even trailered, and I haven’t seen a single review of it crop up yet. From the perversely diverse deluge of frat boys, grannies, confused families, and other achetypes pouring out of the sold-out showing, I can’t help but conclude that I’ve somehow totally missed the fact that it’s on the cover of Newsweek this month, or Oprah just said it’s her favorite new movie or something.

Anyway, I thought the movie was quite gorgeous and engrossing. I’ve been eagerly following it for about a year, and while it turned out quite a bit differently than I expected and imagined, it was still pretty great.

My biggest surprise was that the vast majority of the movie seemed to be a historical drama, while the fantastic stuff involving the faun, the labyrinth, the creature with eyes on its hands, and the mandrake root really ended up getting quite a small slice of screen time. Since the actual conflict with the capitan ended up wholly standing on its own as an engrossing drama, I didn’t mind, but I really expected much more weirdness and fantasy on screen rather than merely acting to set up conflicts between Ofelia and the captain.

I also thought that she looked exactly like Miette from The City of Lost Children, to the point where it was kind of eerie.

My only complaint regards the ending, which I wish had been more ambiguous than it was. When the captain sees Ofelia talking to nobody, it makes it conclusively clear that the whole thing is in her head rather than in the real world, which means that her death is truly her death rather than her escaping her mortal body to return to the underworld. Showing the whole thing up to be her fantasy/delusion kind of kills it, and I wish they had left it more ambiguous.
[/QUOTE]

My thoughts on this film are very different though I too enjoyed it very much.

I guess you need to think about the fantasy elements in relation to the Spanish Civil War elements. They are so far intertwined you can’t really separate them into two distinct strands and I felt that the messages from one strand led directly to the other. Would you sacrifice a brother to gain mastery of your country? Would you create legends to rule the future or let people get on with their own lives?

I also don’t think it’s necessarily true that the fantasy part was shown up as untrue or that Ofelia’s death was ‘real’. Only that the Captain could not see whom Ofelia was talking to. There was a lot about innocence and evil going on in that film and the fact that the evildoer could not see the world any way other than from his own perspective speaks volumes about the way we become entrenched in our belief systems - especially so during periods of conflict. I left the film with the understanding that Ofelia had been restored to her ‘real’ life rather than destroyed. That is, she returned to the fabled kingdom rather than remaining in our world.

10

I loved it and had been dying to see it since I first read about it about a year ago. Guillermo Del Toro has been one of my favorite directors since his debut film Cronos. I’m glad he still makes movies in Spanish because other than Hellboy, I haven’t enjoyed his American movies nearly as much as his Spanish language work.

11

I heard about it here in the UK on the BBC’s Radio 5 film reviews.

Mark Kermode called it the “Citizen Kane of the 21st century” and said it was the best film I’d see this year.

I partly went to see what the fuss was about, but I’m glad I did… it wasn’t what I expected, but the focus on the “real world” took it all to another level rather than being a straight fantasy movie.

12

I was actually just poking around on rottentomatoes and found this… it looks intriguing adn I wondered why I hadn’t heard more about it.
Anyway, it’s in Spanish and it’s rated R. Both bummers because it means I can’t see it by myself or without an adult, and it means no parent of mine or friend with cool parents will want to see it with me because you have to (ohgodthehorror!) read the whole time.

but maybe I’ll be able to get my dad to rent it in a few months.

13

If it helps it’s subtitled.

14

zelie, I’ve edited your post above to box a spoiler. There’s no warning in the thread title, and there are people who may want to read opinions about the film but don’t want spoilers.

Anyone confused about spoilers, please check out Forum Rules and note especially Post #4.

15

[QUOTE=VCO3]
I guess the reviews are slowly starting to trickle in. It’s weird that it was sold out, though, when the much bigger movies weren’t.
[/QUOTE]

It may have been in a small house while the ‘big’ movies are trying to sell out 900+ seats, Pan was tryng to sell <200. Plus, the afternoon is a prime time fro older/more sophisticated movie goers.

16

We went on Saturday, to a 2:00 showing and it was PACKED, with a similarly odd assortment of little old ladies, frat boys, Trixies and Chads and comic book geeks.

[QUOTE=zelie zelerton]

Spoiler:
I also don’t think it’s necessarily true that the fantasy part was shown up as untrue or that Ofelia’s death was ‘real’. Only that the Captain could not see whom Ofelia was talking to. There was a lot about innocence and evil going on in that film and the fact that the evildoer could not see the world any way other than from his own perspective speaks volumes about the way we become entrenched in our belief systems - especially so during periods of conflict. I left the film with the understanding that Ofelia had been restored to her ‘real’ life rather than destroyed. That is, she returned to the fabled kingdom rather than remaining in our world.
[/QUOTE]

Yes, but:

The housekeeper couldn’t see anything, either. She was the undoubtedly good one, and certainly had a multi-faceted look at the world, but couldn’t see Ofelia’s other world.

I agree with the OP’s critique, but it didn’t stop me from liking the movie a whole lot. I just would have liked it even better had it been more ambiguous, but that’s just what I like in movies.

In many ways, I think Mercedes and Ofelia were two facets of the same character - the housekeeper the grown woman standing proud and strong, Ofelia the child reaction within her which wants to surrender and die. While Ofelia faces her challenges in the Labyrinth, Mercedes faces hers in “real” life - definite parallel structure going on there.

One other bit I really liked, but I’m not sure if I’m making up (I haven’t read any reviews or director interviews), is the apparent symbolism of the Captain as

the Minotaur. In the first shot of him getting ready, just after Ofelia first finds the labyrinth, we see clouds of smoke puffing through his nostrils from his cigarette like the exhalation of a bull, and the camera pulls back to reveal the broad shoulders and hulking strength of the brute - the real monster of the monster movie, and the final challenge Ofelia/Mercedes faces within the Labyrinth.

17

WhyNot,

Mercedes assisted the guerilla faction. Who were as rigid in their viewpoint as the military. Perhaps the fact that she cannot see relates to an inability to take the viewpoint of others?

18

[QUOTE=zelie zelerton]
WhyNot,

Mercedes assisted the guerilla faction. Who were as rigid in their viewpoint as the military. Perhaps the fact that she cannot see relates to an inability to take the viewpoint of others?

[/QUOTE]

This isn’t important, but I guess I’ll spoiler it,

[spoiler]You make it sound as if the Captain and his men had a viewpoint worth taking into consideration.

In any case, Mercedes assisted the guerillas because her brother was one of them. What if her brother had been a loyal soldier? We don’t know enough about Mercedes to say if she was loyal to the guerilla cause to the point that she would still support it if her brother had the same mindset as the Captain.

[/spoiler]

19

Just saw it today and liked it tremendously. Much darker than I’d expected, and I liked the fact that the real-world element was emphasized along with the fantasy element. Also more blood and direct portrayals of rather unpleasant things than one would expect to see in a fantasy movie, like the Captain bashing in the head of the farmer’s son who insisted his father was out hunting rabbits or his cut-open mouth and stitching it back up again.

Also, the lines Mercedes speaks to the Captain in front of the Labyrinth really had an effect on me for some reason. “He won’t even know your name.”

20

[QUOTE=zelie zelerton]
WhyNot,

Mercedes assisted the guerilla faction. Who were as rigid in their viewpoint as the military. Perhaps the fact that she cannot see relates to an inability to take the viewpoint of others?

[/QUOTE]

Yes, but

[spoiler]all things seemed to indicate that she had worked for the Captain a long, long time. Many years, she spent more-or-less willingly working for an evil man (unless you think he just got evil or she was just hired) before seeing the folly of his point of view.

Besides, is there any indication that Ofelia saw more than one point of view? Not about the Captain, certainly. I don’t know how much she knew or thought about the war, but she kept the rebel’s secret, so could be considered sympathetic to them. [/spoiler]