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Pan's Labyrinth review (contains spoilers).
I knew prior to entering the theater that this was, this is, more than a movie.
Curiously, it soothed internal questioning: will I leave a mark when I die? And what will happen as my neurons shut down in a final hallucinogenic burst?
The final sentence (I can't quote it, but essentially it was): There were signs of her passing, for those who knew how to look.
This was immensely poignant to me. It continues to make give me pause.
To say the magic in the film is all metaphor, all allegory, is to dismiss some keys events: the mandrake in the saucer of milk, which was indeed helping, and dire consequences occurred when the root was burned. This can be dismissed as coincidence, of course, but then so can anything. Also, the labyrinth walls opening for Ofelia to aid in her escape--could be her imagination, but when the captain appears in the same spot a moment later, the walls are intact and Ofelia is gone, having used the 'shortcut' to reach the center of the labyrinth.
The captain was utterly horrific, proudly displaying the worst traits of humanity to inspire fear in others and loyalty in his men.
His maid was the epitome of courage in unlikely places. A woman should never be underestimated. She was a cunning hero.
Ofelia mirrored me on her imagination-scale. I played similar 'games' with myself while growing up in the mountains.
The faun was beautiful; the soul of nature given a humanoid form--his eyes like milky-blue stones, his body shrouded in leafy vines, the curled horns and digitigrade legs ending in hooves, completed by a calm voice like night falling.
Since yesterday I've been replaying the movie in my mind's eye. I'll be doing so for some time.
We went to an afternoon showing. The morning/afternoon matinees are usually fairly empty, but this was sold out! For a subtitled film in the afternoon (not at an artsy theater), that's unheard of here.
Pan's Labyrinth was, is, an amazing experience.
Curiously, it soothed internal questioning: will I leave a mark when I die? And what will happen as my neurons shut down in a final hallucinogenic burst?
The final sentence (I can't quote it, but essentially it was): There were signs of her passing, for those who knew how to look.
This was immensely poignant to me. It continues to make give me pause.
To say the magic in the film is all metaphor, all allegory, is to dismiss some keys events: the mandrake in the saucer of milk, which was indeed helping, and dire consequences occurred when the root was burned. This can be dismissed as coincidence, of course, but then so can anything. Also, the labyrinth walls opening for Ofelia to aid in her escape--could be her imagination, but when the captain appears in the same spot a moment later, the walls are intact and Ofelia is gone, having used the 'shortcut' to reach the center of the labyrinth.
The captain was utterly horrific, proudly displaying the worst traits of humanity to inspire fear in others and loyalty in his men.
His maid was the epitome of courage in unlikely places. A woman should never be underestimated. She was a cunning hero.
Ofelia mirrored me on her imagination-scale. I played similar 'games' with myself while growing up in the mountains.
The faun was beautiful; the soul of nature given a humanoid form--his eyes like milky-blue stones, his body shrouded in leafy vines, the curled horns and digitigrade legs ending in hooves, completed by a calm voice like night falling.
Since yesterday I've been replaying the movie in my mind's eye. I'll be doing so for some time.
We went to an afternoon showing. The morning/afternoon matinees are usually fairly empty, but this was sold out! For a subtitled film in the afternoon (not at an artsy theater), that's unheard of here.
Pan's Labyrinth was, is, an amazing experience.