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=> GENERAL DISCUSSION => Topic started by: grotty on January 24, 2007, 09:06:00 pm
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I doubt I will see a better movie this year.
MAGIC
<img src="http://www.panslabyrinth.com/downloads/posters/poster4.jpg" alt=" - " />
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yeah i heard that movie was amazing. im going to check it out this weekend
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It's great but I expected more fantasy and less violence...definitely not recommended for kids.
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i'm going to check it out at the afi this weekend.
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It was good, very enterntaining, but I thought it was basically a rehash of another Spainish movie "The Spirit of the Beehive" which is another allegorical tale set in post Civil War Spain and focuses on a girl obsessed with Frankenstein's Monster.
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Just saw that Pan's has a 98 composite score on metactritic. :eek:
http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/panslabyrinth (http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/panslabyrinth)
Which is a pretty nice neighborhood:
1. Godfather, The 1972 100
2. Superman II 1981 99
3. Army of Shadows 2006 99
4. Pan's Labyrinth 2006 98
5. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb 1964 96
6. Pulp Fiction 1994 94
7. Manchurian Candidate, The 1962 94
8. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, The 2003 94
9. Sideways 2004 94
10. Spirited Away 2002 94
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I saw it at the AFI last week. I loved it. Definitely one of the best movies of 2006.
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The movie is being called horror by some. But the only real horror is horrific war-related behavior.
Definitely don't take children & be prepared for some savage tough-to-watch moments.
And it's also sub-titled. If that sways you.
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Looks like the release date was 12/29/06. A 2006 film on a technicality. Realistically it is a new film in the US this month.
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My Dad told me that the closest theater that it is playing to here is in Fairfax. Maybe we'll go see it this weekend. I like those types of movies and it sounds like this one's pretty good from some of the reviews that I've read.
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I don't know where you live, but it is playing in Bethesda also.
And it is the best movie I have seen since 'The Proposition'
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This was definitely the best movie I saw from 2006...even with all the hype, which usually has a tendency to bring a movie down a little. It was just that damn good.
It's playing at Bethesda Row, and I think E Street for at least another month.
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Loved it as well. I was a bit disappointed that there was less focus on the "fantasy" aspect that is played up in the trailers and ads and more on the "real" world. But it was a wonderful movie to see and very inspiring film making.
Now if only Inland Empirse was around for another week...
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I saw it last night and thought it was good, but ultimately not phenomenal. I thought that the chase scene through the labyrinth was a nice reference to the Shining. But some of the violence (to me) was over the top and unnecessary. Did we really need to see the Captain's face sliced open nearly to his ear, and then have him sew it up himself? The juxtaposition of the war and this fantasy world was interesting, but I felt like I wanted to see more of this exotic underworld instead. I guess it was well done for the most part, but I didn't love it. It wasn't the best of 2006 for me. That would go to Little Miss Sunshine instead. One sidenote: the guy who played the Captain was also in a great French thriller called With a Friend Like Harry, and he played a total psycho. I highly recommend that one.
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Agreed with bearman regarding the violence. I really can't comprehend the metacritic score.
Children of Men is a must see, though!
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I agree with you bearman. It was good, but I wanted more fantasy to contrast with the brutal reality (given, some of her fantasy was pretty nasty in a shockhead peter type of way). There were a lot of references to mythological/fairytale archetypes throughout--but the red shoe/ruby slipper bit at the end was lame.
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I saw the movie last night in Georgetown, and went with high expectations. It turned out to be not what I had expected at all. Like most of the others that posted here, I expected more of a fantasy and quest oriented plot- something akin to the 80's Labyrinth with Bowie. At any rate, my expectations were met with excellent story telling and superb acting. As with any great movie the story and characters linger with you long after you leave the theater. As for the violence, I did not find it excessive. In part it adds to character development, and it's central to plot. It is after all about a real world at war, and an underworld offering hope.
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***Spoilers!!!!****
If you think back to the film - most of the violence was really in the anticipation/buildup. Almost all was just implied.
Think about the tough scenes:
amputation - cut away
torture - none shown
face cut - just a quick flash (tho the repair was pretty bad.)
face pounding - it was VERY, VERY dark.
Mostly - I think it's just your imagination confirming that it was really violent. What horrific scene was gratuitous?
Creating the evil real world was essential to the plot.
I can't believe we are even talking about Pan's Labyrinth with Little Miss Sunshine.
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Pan's Labyrinth and Little Miss Sunshine are clearly apples and oranges. It just boils down to personal preference, nothing more. I think that the violence seemed excessive in the sense that I was thinking this might be more the kind of movie that you could take a 12-year-old niece to, but clearly that's not the case. Don't get me wrong...it's a cool movie, but it didn't reach out to me the way that it has with some other folks.
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from the trailer this looked like a fantasy film. i had no idea it revolved around the spanish resistance during ww2. that definately made the plot alot better. it was interesting how they meshed real life situations and fantasy. given the violence most people see in mainstream movies this was not too bad. i saw letters to iwo jima after that. another good film.
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I also saw Letters from Iwo Jima the other night...good flick, except for the lady in front of us by herself, talking to herself the entire movie (not reading the subtitles out loud, she was actually giving her own commentary) and the ham-handed old people behind us eating their popcorn and shuffling the bag so loud they could probably hear it in the lobby.
wtf is with Bethesda Row and crazy people? It also happened when we saw Curse of the Golden Flower, some dude talking to himself the entire movie.
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Actually, the movie makes it clear that it takes place during the Eisenhower era, not WWII.
I enjoyed how Pan's Labyrinth wrapped up, religious allusions and all. However, I felt it dragged a bit throughout, much like The Proposition, another movie mentioned above.
I have to ask, I love methodical movies as much as the next film geek, but is The Proposition getting so much love because Nick Cave wrote it?
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it's actually set during the Spanish Civil War (1936-39) so definitely not during the Eisenhauer administration. It is a brutal movie, but as mentioned, it doesn't go much farther than other movies out there. Difference is that the brutality in this movie actually happened. The Spanish Civil War was what inspired Picasso to paint Guernica. That painting and Pan's Labyrinth complement each other nicely in terms of their commentary on the war.
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Man...Different impressions are amazing.
I can't remember one moment of the movie that dragged. I even once looked @ my watch hoping there was more time left. I'm going to see it again this weekend - haven't done that since Star Wars as a youngster.
An interesting phenomenon about this movie is that it's a foreign film in limited release. So not a lot is known about it in advance. Look @ most of the criticisms above. They are all about not meeting expectations. I think the trailer is partly to blame but also the fact that not everyone is talking about it & we are not getting beat over the head by marketing for it.
I liked that - It's not often that I see a movie & don't already essentially know the plot in advance.
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It's actually set just after the Spanish Civil War...Captain Vidal was sent to this outpost because there was still some rebel activity, even though the war itself was considered over. To confirm this, in the movie they made a reference to the D-Day invasion taking place in France, in the present tense.
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I'm not saying I didn't like it, it was a really good movie. I think the previews are a bit deceiving though, because they make it seem like the fantasy element dominates the film. I was expecting something more in the line of a City of Lost Children--which it definitely is not. All of this discussion speaks to what a powerful film it was. It wasn't what I expected, but I find myself still thinking about it several days later.
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"a reference to the D-Day invasion taking place in France"
yep - they were reading a newspaper or report that referred to Normandy: "a beach in France."
The Spanish Civil War was 1936-1939.
The timing makes sense. The film is set in the period when they are trying to eliminate the last bits of guerilla rebellion in Spain. And Normandy was 1944.
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You're right, forgot about that early reference to d-day
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*******SPOILERS********
Ofelia's fairy tale world.
Real or not so real?
I think I could make a pretty good argument for either. Another reason I liked the movie so much...
<img src="http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/movie/gallery/1165265/photo_05_thumb.jpg" alt=" - " />
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The score for the film is pretty good too. You can stream it all @ the official site. See top left corner: http://www.panslabyrinth.com/ (http://www.panslabyrinth.com/)
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I could be wrong then. I thought I remembered a reference to Eisenhower as president, but perhaps it was as Commander Eisenhower.
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The Proposition depicted a life that was hard as nails and not very enticing. Probably very close to what it was like in Australia when it was first being settled. I'm sure superfans give it a nod because Nick Cave wrote it. While I'm a fan of Nick Cave, that was not the reason why I liked it.
I have to ask, I love methodical movies as much as the next film geek, but is The Proposition getting so much love because Nick Cave wrote it?
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"The Proposition depicted a life that was hard as nails and not very enticing. Probably very close to what it was like in Australia when it was first being settled."
Exactly. Not pretty but probably accurate. Much like the war scenes/torture scenes in Pan's. Worse things than those shown happen every day across the planet. Thus the need for fairy tales & magic places.
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To clarify, I certainly enjoyed The Proposition. I was quite bored during the first half, but the second half helped me put the first half in better perspective.
It was an effective movie, I just can't personally call it a great movie.
It's pretty much the same for Pan's Labyrinth for me.
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I have so wanted to see this movie ever since I first heard about it, which was some time ago. I'm a longtime member of a forum with members from all over the world, especially the UK and Australia, and movies are one of the main things we talk about. So they were raving about films like Children of Men and Pan's Labyrinth long before they hit the States. And when they finally did open over here, no theatres near me got them. I'm used to that, but it always pisses me off. I live up in PA, by the way. I've done a bit of traveling before simply to see movies. But now it looks like a few theatres pretty close by are finally showing Pan's Labyrinth, so I'll have to go see it this week. Children of Men apparently caught on (a "surprise hit", they're calling it), so even my hometown theatres are showing that one now. So there's another one to catch this week, before it disappears. Now if only a theatre within a reasonable distance would show The Fountain...
I did manage to catch Curse of the Golden Flower, though, so I feel a bit lucky about that (even though it wasn't all that great).
And I keep hearing about The Proposition, so I guess I should make a note to see that when I have the chance.
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just came back from see the movie. i liked it, didn't love it. it was well done, and within 20 minutes i was thinking "there is no chance in hell an american would ever do this"-ie, the idea of a fantasy or escape world for a child facing the horrors and aftermath of a war. even for an "indepedent" director or screenplay writer, i just don't think any american has done this approach. i could be wrong though. definitely it has oscar potential in some areas, not all 6 that's its nominated for. violence didn't bother me at all-it was appropriate, if not muted, for the subject matter. what oddly, i found american about it though, was how everything was tied up in a bow at the end and i found the ending very simplistic and predicatable, or at least more so than usual for a non american film.
didn't realize that mercedes character was played by the lead actress in yu tu mama tambien. now that was a great movie.
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what oddly, i found american about it though, was how everything was tied up in a bow at the end and i found the ending very simplistic and predicatable, or at least more so than usual for a non american film.
The ending is far more complicated that your initial interpretation, I think. There's a considerable amount of ambiguity to the ending, with at least three possible interpretations that I can think of, all equally valid in my opinion. Too bad this forum doesn't have spoiler tags. I'm hesitant to discuss too much of the ending for fear of ruining it for anyone who hasn't seen it. Feel free to send me a PM if you are interested in my interpretations of the ending. Grotty alludes to a couple of them in a post above.
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dc is really lucky to have 2 (mark cuban owned) landmark theatres plus cinema arts + shirlington and even afi. only LA and NYC have more indy film theatres and more choices of movies. plus the landmark theatres are in good shape in dc. the projectors don't scratch the films and the theatres are new. most other landmarks in other cities are older theatres like cinema arts or shirlington.
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don't forget about the avalon theatre as well way up on connecticut. so yes, we are very lucky that we get such a wide range of films. also the goethe institute, library of congress mary pickford theatre, and the italian cultural institute show foreign/vintage/indie films.
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Why are we "very lucky"? We live in one of the most expensive areas in the country, and have some of the most educated people. Why wouldn't we have the best selection of movies?
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didn't realize that mercedes character was played by the lead actress in yu tu mama tambien. now that was a great movie.
knew she looked familiar--she's a really good actress, and yu tu mama tambien was an excellent movie
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I saw it a week ago at Georgetown, and it's at E Street and Shirlington and Ballston... ???
I agree with bearman and others who liked it, but I was not blown away as in one of the best movies ever (which is what some of the buzz is -- if you read about movies, there has been a lot of coverage of it on Top 10 lists, etc. And I'd seen the Metacritic score of 98 before I saw the movie).
I know there are a lot of violent movies, but it's been a long time that I had my eyes covered for more than a full minute -- extremely violent (the face slice and sew up scene went on forever).
But, it was also great to see an adult movie that brings in elements of fantasy and allegory.
For 2006, "Little Children" has been my favorite so far. Apples and oranges, I know.
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i just caught the movie this past sunday. i agree that its not the best movie of the year, but it was one of the better ones ive seen in the past few months.
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My wife thought it was "one of the better movies I've ever seen".
I thought it was as good as any movie I've seen in 2006. Borat may have been more entertaining, but you can't really compare the two.
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Rhett was all like
Borat may have been more entertaining, but you can't really compare the two.
Yeh you can. Both dealt with Europe and stuff.
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that was a quick edit, econo. cuz i was gonna say, "borat" definitely had some fecal moments, but i couldn't remember any in "pan's".
i saw it over the weekend, the first movie i saw in the theater since "borat," actually. it was very good, but it didn't have me thinking about it constantly for the next few days, or anything.