Pan's Labyrinth

I doubt I will see a better movie this year.
MAGIC


<img src="http://www.panslabyrinth.com/downloads/posters/poster4.jpg" alt=" - " />

yeah i heard that movie was amazing. im going to check it out this weekend

It's great but I expected more fantasy and less violence…definitely not recommended for kids.

i'm going to check it out at the afi this weekend.

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.

Just saw that Pan's has a 98 composite score on metactritic. :eek:

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

I saw it at the AFI last week. I loved it. Definitely one of the best movies of 2006.

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.

**************************

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.

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.

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'

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.

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…

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.

Agreed with bearman regarding the violence. I really can't comprehend the metacritic score.

Children of Men is a must see, though!

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.

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.

***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.

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.

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.

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.