Film Of The Week: Pan's Labyrinth

And, in keeping with my last post, I've decided that A) as I'm working at home so much, and B) my "watch these movies soon" list is has never gotten any shorter, I'm planning on watching one a week and sharing my insights and wisdom about it.

First off: Pan's Labyrinth. I watched Del Toro's "Devil's Backbone" a few years ago, after seeing it recommended on some DVD rental club I was in (forget it's name now). Thought I'd give it a shot. Loved it. Couldn't wait to watch Pan. Missed it at the movies.

It's the second of Del Toro's loosely-related trilogy set during the Spanish Civil War. Both films (the third has not yet been undertaken) feature a young kid caught up in a small part of the conflict, and overlays a ghost/fantasy experience that the kid lives through.

Both films are in Spanish, which I know drives some people nuts, but I like foreign language films when they are set in the original country, as it adds to the sense of this being somewhere other than Anywhere, Middle America.

Pan features a couple of strong performances, surprisingly one is the girl in the lead role, but also the Captain, leader of an outpost of Franco's forces trying to hunt down the rebels in the area. He's a right sadistic bastard, to put it bluntly. Fortunately, the film's not a gross-out on that front. Just a few hints to show what he's like.

And the film keeps you guessing whether Pan is working with Ofelia, the young girl, for good intentions or bad, so you're never quite sure of where it's going.

Labels: movies

posted by Blakey UK @ 6:51 pm