“Pan’s Labyrinth” is another one of those movies I had meant to watch for ages but kept finding one reason or another to put it off until later. I have this feeling against casually watching movies that demand more attention. This seemed like a fairly prestigious film, one that had been nominated for an Academy Award and therefore made me sort of sigh reluctantly at the thought of having to block out time to watch it. Plus, it’s a foreign film and necessitates the reading of subtitles for the duration of the film. I hate to fall under the figure of stupid ugly American who won’t watch a good movie because she has to read subtitles. Basically it was an accumulation of little excuses that deterred me from discovering this gem, and I’m glad to have finally watched it.
This film is deserving of its R rating. I’ve definitely seen more grisly, bloody violence in other movies but there’s something very primal and psychologically disturbing about the violence in this movie, which I admire of it. Having seen the film more than once I know when to close my eyes and ears—not just the sights but also the sounds that accompany them are equally terrifying. It is very much an adult fairy tale. This sounds misleading, as if there is some “adult content” that children should not know of until they reach a certain age, but it is not the case with this movie. It is just that children would probably have nightmares about it, and there are heavy topics that would have more of an impact with adults who can process the psychological and historical occurrences.
I’m not sure if I would go as far to say that director Del Toro is a feminist but he certain puts a lot of womb-like elements into the set direction. There is something very pro-woman in this film, which goes against and in contrast to the very male, fascist antagonist figures. I know that he went against typecast with his actresses; for the deferring mother he cast a woman known for playing strong independent females, and for the strong surrogate mother maid he cast an actress who typically plays more of a femme fatale, lusty eye candy for men.
A real grown-up fairy tale, very well told by director Guillermo del Toro. A wonderfully brave and not too precocious nine year old actress plays the protagonist. Wi would tell anyone who dismiss fantasy as kids stuff to watch this and have them change their minds. Some truly gripping, terrifying scenes that don’t show violence but hint at it, which makes it all the more gasp-inducing. I’ve read somewhere that its really a horror film disguised as a fantasy, which it may well be. And really, if I hahad known it was so violent I probably never would have seen it. However, that wasn’t the only impediment/deterrent that prevented me from getting around to watching this. Sometimes I like to watch something that I can put on in the background and sometimes I want something “meaty”, something I can chew over, some food for thought. I heard much acclaim about this movie and worried about finding the time for such a prestigious work.
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