Reviews of Pan's Labyrinth

Pan's Labyrinth

Posted : 4 months, 1 week ago on 27 July 2008 01:00 (A review of Pan's Labyrinth)

Oh Guillermo, after this movie you have a permanent free pass to do whatever the hell you want and I will be there to watch. Equal parts historical fiction, Grimm’s Brothers fantasy, and Mexican folkloric art inspired, Pan’s Labyrinth was the best movie of 2006, and a neo-classic. It might only be two years old, and it might seem like hyperbole for me to make such proclamations, but I do not care. I believe that this movie will stand the test of time and be considered one of the great foreign films, and one of the great films like The Seven Samurai, M, and Beauty and the Beast before it. The story is appropriately simple, the good guys are very good and the bad guys are very bad, but it’s the visual trickery and designs that make it so stunning. That, and El Fauno is a fantastic creation – equal parts nurturing and vindictive, caring and nonchalant, a trickster and the most honest character in the movie. It is within the creature designs that Guillermo’s Mexican background shines through. They are beautiful, yes, and they are horrifying, but they are also very much inspired by Mexican folkloric art. And it is that combination of styles which provides the film with so much visual fancy. The rustic European cottage stands in stark contrast to the Pale Man’s disturbing lair, and without that tension the film would not work.

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Enchanting tale

Posted : 1 year, 4 months ago on 15 July 2007 05:59 (A review of Pan's Labyrinth)

A thought provoking and enchanting tale that is only slightly let down by stereo-typical characters. The Captain being the main culprit in question. Brought back memories of childhood reading I'd almost forgotten.

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Pan's Labyrinth

Posted : 1 year, 5 months ago on 28 June 2007 06:57 (A review of Pan's Labyrinth)

This movie was definitely misleading, based on the commercials. Not what I expected at all. Very dark and violent (gruesome even), but still really good. Don't watch this with children. Definitely NOT a family movie. But definitely one to watch. Very well done, well acted, and great story.

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Pan's Labyrinth review

Posted : 1 year, 5 months ago on 25 June 2007 12:04 (A review of Pan's Labyrinth)

I was very surprised with this film. I have no idea what I was expecting except it was maybe more a children's film then anything else. Jeez was I mistaken! Obviously I hadn't heard much about it.

For starters it was far too violent in parts for children and younger children may have found it more on the scary side. For adults though (including young adults) it was excellent. It was unlike any other movie I have seen in a long time and by far a rarity in cinematic excellence. The acting was fantastic and the story line was marvellous. If you're a world cinema fan you have to see this and if you aren't, well you really have to see this.

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an extraordinary masterpiece

Posted : 1 year, 5 months ago on 16 June 2007 09:29 (A review of Pan's Labyrinth)

Spain. 1944. Ofelia, a girl fascinated by fairy tales, is sent with her pregnant mother to meet and live with her new stepfather, Capitan Vidal, a particularly sadistic character. One night Ofelia meets a fairy, is told she is a princess and encounters the faun Pan. To prove her royalty, she must execute specific albeit gruesome tasks.

Sergi Lopez as the Capitan is excellent, as are the two leading actresses, Maribel Verdu (playing Vidal's housekeeper, Mercedes) and Ivana Baquero (Ofelia). The faun is magistrally played by Doug Jones.

An intense, brutal, beautiful, magical world is what makes this movie A MUST SEE, for it is quite the masterpiece, visually and artistically. The film definitely deserved its Oscar for best cinematography: Guillermo Navarro used wonderful lighting and techniques.

Brilliantly directed and masterfully written by Guillermo Del Toro, this is a movie FOR ADULTS.

(Warning: English subtitles only so far available on the DVDs.)


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Aggravated by fast sub-titles & spanish

Posted : 1 year, 6 months ago on 4 June 2007 08:28 (A review of Pan's Labyrinth)

My first thought after renting and watching this movie wasn’t very honest. I was upset that it didn’t have an English language version and that the English sub-titles often ran way too fast prompting several rewinds on my player. But in retrospect this was a good movie, a really good movie. And sub-titles do make you pay more attention to the story, but when concentrating on the sub-titles I think you miss some of the visuals and visual effects. My hope is that a Special English dubbed version might be released sometime in the future. I give it high marks for everything but the Spanish only language and way-to-fast sub-titles. Yes, I was aggravated by it, but it was still a good movie.

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Good, but a slight Disappointment

Posted : 1 year, 6 months ago on 26 May 2007 04:40 (A review of Pan's Labyrinth)

Ok, so I have been waiting to see this movie for a long time, and I have built up quite an excitment for it. As with any high expectations, I was slight disappointed in the way the movie was presented. The previews I saw gave the movie a fantastic feel when in reality the movie focused more on the story of the gril in real life rather than her fantasy world. But in the end it was maid up for by the fact that so many people died. Lost of action, a little bit of fantasy, and some pretty good music. See it, but don't expect another LOTR or Neverending story.

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A Stunning Fantasy

Posted : 1 year, 9 months ago on 23 February 2007 05:18 (A review of Pan's Labyrinth)

This is definately one of the best films I've seen in a long time. Everything was just so amazingly good! The storyline, the characters, the acting, the music, the graphics and effects, they were all just about perfect. All of these together make the film beautiful and touching, yet at the same time suspenseful. The elements of horror and graphic violence in the film add to it's realism, a perfect escape from the usual sugar-coated films.

This really is no ordinary fantasy film. It is beautifully crafted in every way and I would definately recommend it. :)

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Short Little Review

Posted : 1 year, 9 months ago on 20 February 2007 10:48 (A review of Pan's Labyrinth)

This movie is probably one of the best examples of a journey into the psyche of a child.

Our young heroine Ophelia is a girl living in a time of turmoil, she escapes the real dangers and troubles of her life by retreating to her fantasy world. Where her real life is relatively complicated moral ground and outcomes are shaky her fantasy world is simple with a clear end and defined right and wrong. It is absolute escapism when she needs it the most.

This dark fairy tale has fantastic imagery in both the “real” and “fantasy” world albeit very gruesome. Only the very desensitized will not flinch at scenes of graphic torture and gaping wounds. It's a visual feast I would recommend watching without reading the subtitles.

Not much of a family film but likely to become an artistic classic.

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Oscar worthy

Posted : 1 year, 10 months ago on 25 January 2007 12:47 (A review of Pan's Labyrinth)

I really enjoyed watching this movie. If you've heard about this movie, you've probably heard that it is a fairy tale. It is in a sense, but it isn't one that you will want to bring your kids to watch. The movie is rated are for a reason; it is very graphic at times. If your stomach turns at watching graphic violence, you may want to skip this movie.

After saying that, I will say that this has a great story that grabs you and won't let you go until it ends. It ebbs and flows in and out of the fantasy world and the horror of war. The main character is a girl who is trying to make sense of her new stepfather and the life that has been thrust upon her. The fairy tale shows you a way in which she tries to cope with this situation that she doesn't want.

This movie is subtitled so you will have to read as you watch the movie. The film has very well done special effects that really add to the dark tone to the movie. Don't go into this movie thinking that this is a Disney movie where everyone lives happily ever after. This movie is powerful and is full of emotions. You won't feel you've wasted your hard earned money when you leave the theater after watching this one.

Flash

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