Oct 5, 2011

Pan's Labyrinth (El laberinto del fauno - Spanish title)

Plot: In the fascist Spain of 1944, the bookish young stepdaughter of a sadistic army officer escapes into an eerie but captivating fantasy world.

Like I said it before, Guillermo del Toro is obsessed with dark fairy tale creatures.
This movie is no exception, it is another dark fairy tale. But this one is a real masterpiece when it comes to dark fairy tales. Brutal and hearth touching movie, with beautiful acting and scenery. Directing is also very good.

The year is 1944, spanish civil war rages.. It all starts with a pregnant woman and her daughter moving away from the city, to an isolated house in the woods. The mother had to marry an army Captain out of interest - her husband died, and she had to marry because the captain could offer her safety and money. The young daughter (Ofelia) hates his new "father"..
One day she enters a labyrinth, and meets and old faun, and he tells her she is a princess, and must prove her royalty by performing 3 tasks, each harder than the one before.

A dark masterpiece... that is definetly not for children (there are some really brutal parts in the movie).
There is a huge contrast between the good Ofelia and the brutal captain Vidal. But somehow I understand the captain, I undestand that he must be bad and brutal, because his father was a great leader, and he must live up to his name..
Young Ofelia (12yo) carries the whole movie on her shoulders, and she really manages, and acts like a pro.

Everything is in perfect harmony... the acting, the landscape, the effects, and the music. It's nothing like Narnia, IMO it's way better (and Narnia was for kids... this is not for kids, but a fairy tale for adults).
So give this movie a try. It's a great movie, I really loved it, and I highly recommend it.

I rate this 9/10.


1 comments:

Liaata said...

ty for review, defenatly gonna try it out! sounds great, like this kind of movies!

Post a Comment