just watched pan's labyrinth.

n3crius

n3crius

n3crius

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firstly if i had to summarise, this felt like it was engineered to fit the dark places in my brain that are generally dormant (probably a good thing).

dark and untapped places where films seldom tread, are the places Pan's Labyrinth dwells.

leaving the cinema with my girlfriend and another friend, we discussed immediately and found we all had varying perceptions of 'what happened'. because this film is fantasy, a dream (or nightmare) which runs deep and plays on parts of us all individually, the main story can be interpreted in many ways. does that mean you're left annoyed at the conclusion? far from it. you'll take away a lot from this film. maybe a sense of justice, of the gritty nature of war, there's something for anyone willing to take this film on and absorb the content.

i don't want to elaborate on any scene, any creature, or part of the plot. all i need to say is that there are themes in the film which will make you feel like a child again, you can feel there's a nightmare looming in your sleep but you have to press on and enter it and see what's in waiting round the next corner.

i'm going on a bit, and there's one real point i should cover. the film is mostly brillaint for its ability to be a real adult fantasy. there are other fantasy films i love and will watch again, but this is in a class of its own. It's very dark, and somehow feels very 'real'. Hard to explain, you just have to go and see it. i don't remember a film weaving all this together so well. it's also extremely beautiful, well directed, has great acting, and a superb score that enhances scenes well.

SarahPuggy enjoyed the film just as much as me. She can't wait to see it again.
 
Thanks for the recommendation, I've been very tempted to go and see this since Mark Kermode talked about it with such high regard.

I'm definitely a fan of films that uses fairytale/childhood-fantasy themes for an adult perspective (i.e. as the vehicle for the underlying theme); Burton's films like Big Fish and Edward Scissorhands come to mind, so I think I'm likely to enjoy this.
 
Augmented said:
Thanks for the recommendation, I've been very tempted to go and see this since Mark Kermode talked about it with such high regard.
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Same here, it's by far the highest praise i've heard him give a film yet.
 
I saw this tonight and enjoyed it a lot. Not world-changing, but very good indeed. I knew it wasnt a 'regular' fantasy story (i.e. not aimed at children) but the violence was quite sickening! Especially the first from the captain! :(

Very good film.
 
Also heard Mark Kermode's review and am very keen to see it. Frustratingly on at so few cinemas though and none near Lancs. So unless its still on in 2 weeks when I'm back in York will have to wait till it reaches DVD.

Oh, and his advent calendar is keeping me amused :)
 
Saw this over the weekend too and have to say I was very impressed. Not exactly a hugely uplifting movie, but it's made me think a lot about it since and there are a lot of subtexts/parallels you can draw to certain scenes depending on how deep you want to look.

Great movie and definitely one to experience on the big screen!
 
I saw this film very recently having only heard it being recommended and nothing else. I didn't know what it was about other than a fairy tale, but I thought it was excellent.

If anyone has ever read 'The Boy with the Striped Pyjamas' you'll make comparisons. There is a build-up towards the end and you can tell that things may not be as positive as you'd expect. I thought it was really dark, but more in the sense of foreboding danger as opposed to horror or gore. Highly recommended.
 
Not what I expected at all but made us nice change from the U.S. guff that we are fed usually. The film is subtitled and the dialogue is in Spanish but it didn't spoil it for me, in fact I would say it makes you watch the film more intently as your having to read the dialogue off the screen.

The acting was very good almost to a point where you didn't really think they were acting and that you were just looking into a strange dark tale. There were some quite graphic moments that I though were a little unnecessary but hey it was a 15 film so it not going to be all fluffy bunnies.

As IceBus said not really that uplifting but an interesting modern dark fairy tale with some compelling characters and beautifully filmed and Directed.

Something a little different from the norm but well worth a watch!

HEADRAT rating 8.5/10
 
HEADRAT said:
Not what I expected at all but made us nice change from the U.S. guff that we are fed usually. The film is subtitled and the dialogue is in Spanish but it didn't spoil it for me, in fact I would say it makes you watch the film more intently as your having to read the dialogue off the screen.
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I've always wondered why people say things along these lines. I'm growing to almost prefer foreign-language films. I dont really know why -- maybe because if the acting's naff it can hide it, or maybe as you say because it draws you into the film a lot more. :confused: I certainly would never think a film could be spoiled by being in a foreign language!

HEADRAT said:
There were some quite graphic moments that I though were a little unnecessary but hey it was a 15 film so it not going to be all fluffy bunnies.
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I cant believe it was only a 15! I knew it was a 'fantasy story for adults' but when the first bit of violence with the farmers started i was like ':eek::eek:'. The poor woman next to me was covering her face after she realised what was going on! I think 'a fantasy for adults' is probably a bit like saying that Brokeback Mountain was a 'gay cowboy film' (although i havent seen it; i think Ang Lee hated it being coined that by the press) -- it probably under-sells it by a very long way.

I have to say though, in my opinion the violence was pretty much integral to the film. If it was all off-camera or less severe it wouldnt have been nearly as hard-hitting as it was.
 
Some of this movie sacred the bejesus out me. I thought it was highly original. There was only one moment I thought 'oh I wonder what is going to happen next' and I really liked the way the film didn't address whats real and whats not real. Whilst not being so stupidly complicated like a lot of things nowadays. I watched Basic on tv last night and it was the stupidest thing ever.

Great film alround
 
Managed to see this in York. Very good indeed, easily the best film this year.

More people should go see it, prolly still chance :)
 
I had very high expectations before going into see this after all the recommendations, from friends/reviews but I was rather let down. Yes, great acting, fantasticly created creatures, very dark plot, great imagination, but..

Wasnt anyone a little bored? I felt it was rather slow, particularly at the beginning, I wanted something to happen (I usually am very patient indeed).

Excessively graphic bloody scenes, now I am no prude, but I just found a lot of the 'bloody' scenes too long, too graphic and a lot of the times simply not needed and only added for shock value.

Faded colours - when filming outside, it looked like it was filmed 20 years ago ie dull colours.

Apart from it being a moving film I was rather disappointed, if it hadnt been moving I really wouldnt have enjoyed it. I was expecting more imagination, more creatures and incredibly shot scenes. Sadly it didnt live up to the hype for me. Obviously its far better than a lot of films that have come out 2006/07 but didnt quite do it for me.
 
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