Pan's Labyrinth

[Peregrine]

I went to see Pan's Labyrinth this weekend and was completely blown away. This is one fantastic movie, the kind that you won't see from mainstream Hollywood. The acting was fantastic, and the production values in the costumes, special effects, etc were very high. This is a dark fairy tale, crosscut with an even darker real life situation for the hero Ofelia. She is a young girl in 1945 in Franco's Spain, trapped in a remote lodge with her mother while her adopted father, the murderous Captain Vidal, tries to hunt down rebels with Nationalist troops. She discovers there is a lot more to the old mill she is staying in, as she soon discovers a world of fairies, fauns, and evil monsters.

I definitely recommend that everyone see this, with two caveats, the first is that it is all in Spanish with subtitles, but I didn't have any problem with that. The second is that there is quite a bit of violence, some of it gruesome, so this movie has a well-earned R rating and I'd avoid taking any but older children to see it.

[Jonathan Ezarik]

I really want to see this. I was surprised to find that it's showing in this area now, so I'll go check it out this week.

[Swaggs]

I read about this a few days ago and it sounds like something I would really like. Hopefully, I will get a chance to check it out. Might have to wait for DVD.

[Izulde]

I'm planning on checking it out too. Should be better than Curse of the Golden Flower, which was essentially a ripoff of Ran.

[KeyserSoze]

I love the movie. As spaniard the movie touch some historical matters that still hurts but, anyway I think that anyone can enjoy this "dark fairy tale".

Lately the mexican directors are doing great movies, don't you think? Babel, Pan's Labyrinth, Children of Men....

[Alan T]

I really enjoyed it when I saw this movie. I went originally just because my S.O. really wanted to see this. She speaks spanish as a first language though and had heard from friends it was great. I am far less fluent in spanish, but that did not hamper my enjoyment of the movie at all.

Only comment i have is if you don't speak spanish and don't like subtitles, you may have a problem with this movie. Otherwise its an excellent storyline, and I thought a pretty teriffic movie.

[SuperGrover]

How's the gore? I'm not a fan of gore for shock value but I hear it's relevant to the movie in this case. What did yo guys think?

[Alan T]

How's the gore? I'm not a fan of gore for shock value but I hear it's relevant to the movie in this case. What did yo guys think?

Its not a slasher flick if thats what you are asking. You don't see blood pouring out everywhere for the sake of seeing alot of blood.

There are some scenes which are a bit gruesome, but I think it fits into what you call being relevant to the movie. I wouldn't take my kids to see this, but nothing really grossed me out. Only one part of the movie I felt was a bit over the top. (I won't explain which part as it would ruin the movie) For those who have seen it, its during the second task.

[Eaglesfan27]

My wife doesn't usually go to movies that are all subtitled, as she finds it too distracting. She went to this one with her best friend yesterday. She thinks this is the best movie she has seen in 5 or so years and wants me to go see it with her next weekend.

[Icy]

The best movie i have seen this year, you shouldn't miss it.

About being gore, for sure it's not, it's just that some violence scenes are as realistic that hurt to watch them (it's like saying that the scene of the Normandy beach in Save Private Ryan is gore while I think it's just realistic).

I think he wanted the violent scenes really impacting to stand out from the kids fantasy ones, the mix is perfect and won't let you indifferent. That is one of the big things of this movie, the mix of the brute reality in a country (Spain) after a civil war with a beautifully kids story and how they cross paths.

[SuperGrover]

Yeah I don't mind realism, but there are times that things are added for effect when they really do nothing to set the mood or further the story. For example, the fingernail pulling scene in Sryiana required no close up shot of the nail being pulled. What was the purpose of that?

I'll probably check it out even though i hate subtitles.

[Vince]

An utterly fantastic movie, in my opinion. It was incredibly intense, and I loved the acting, the effects, and the storyline a ton. The juxtaposition o the fairy tale with the gruesome reality of the civil war was simply fantastic.

Yes, I was only looking for an excuse to say 'juxtaposition.'

[Greyroofoo]

i never see movies in the theatre anymore,

that being said, I can't wait to see this movie in hd-dvd/ blu-ray

[sabotai]

i never see movies in the theatre anymore,

Same here. I only saw two movies in the theater last year (Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Borat). The year before that, it might have been 2...

I might make an exception for this movie, though.

[BrianD]

I didn't realize there was a thread for this so I mentioned it briefly in the Last Movie You Watched thread. Very good movie and very intense. There were a few scenes where I found myself not breathing because it was so intense. There was some strong violence in this movie. It was a lot less than most slasher flicks, but the realism made it seem more harsh. My wife had to look away from the screen a few times, and she doesn't usually have trouble with movie violence.

I enjoyed the movie a bunch, but it did remind me how poor my Spanish is. I need to work on that.

[Flasch186]

yeah the movie was awesome and the gore is best described as, In an American made movie right before something happens, lets say the impact....the camera cuts away but you still hear the impact....well in this movie the camera doesnt cut away.

great flick but I found myself a couple of times, saying out loud, "Oh yeah, they showed it."

[kingnebwsu]

An amazing movie that's visually stunning. Anyone who is interested by the premise even a little should go see it ASAP. Still at the first-run theater in my town.

[cthomer5000]

Very good movie. I agree the violence at times is tough to take, and i think it's very intentional. It's not gratuitous, it's simply realistic which is what makes it so damn hard to watch.

And I agree with the talk about Babel being vastly overrated. It looked good, it flowed, but in the end I realized I didn't care about any of the characters whatsoever. The movie had no heart to it, in my opinion. It was more paint-by-numbers in the current popular style. I felt the same way about 21 Grams (by the same director), but to a lesser degree. I thought that was a "good," but again overrated film.

[Honolulu_Blue]

I finally got around to seeing this movie. First movie I've seen since, uh, May of last year or something like that.

I loved it. Excellent film. Visually stunning and quite moving. I look forward to digesting this one a bit more...

[kingnebwsu]

An amazing movie. And if you're one of those twangy types who says "I don't wunna reed my muuvies" then don't bother. But otherwise a fantastic foreign film that's Oscar-worthy.

[ISiddiqui]

As I said in the "Last Movie You Watched Thread":

Pan's Labyrinth - 10/10: Yeah, it was that good. As stated before an "adult fairy tale", but definately not what I expected (in a good way). Lots of violent scenes, not just involving the fantasy stuff (it's like a Brothers Grimm type of tale), but also the Spanish (Francoist) troops.

Best foriegn film I've seen since Crouching Tiger, I think. Or Hero. There were a LOT of interesting questions raised by the movie. It was gorgeous with its special effects, had a great story, and also caused you to think a little. They don't make many movies on this side of the pond that much anymore.

And a GREAT ending.

[Groundhog]

I saw this on Satuday night at a small indie cinema, not knowing what to expect. I'd seen a few adverts in the paper and I thought it was going to be some wierd French film about Peter Pan or something, so to say that this movie wasn't what I expected would be an understatement. I was completely blown away, and this is probably the best movie I've seen in... I dunno, a long, long time.

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I loved the ending - the perfect finish to a pretty perfect film. I really dug how you can either take the movie as being a true fantasy film, or as a sad story about a girl using her imagination to escape from a terrible reality. As soon as the movie finished and I was talking to my girlfriend about it (who also loved it as much as me), I found that we both felt opposite about the ending, with me leaning to the "escape from reality" side, and her to the "fantasy" side, and I think it's a great movie that can be enjoyed on both levels.

[Karlifornia]

I really want to check this movie out.

[SFL Cat]

I'll probably wait for DVD.

[Godzilla Blitz]

I thought this film deserved a nomination for best film of the year. What a powerfully told tale.

Even though I went in to the theater knowing that it wasn't for kids, it was much darker and more gruesome than I thought it was going to be.

I was also expecting more of a fantasy/action element to the film than there was. I'd put the film into a basic drama category more than I would put it into any other category.