God, what a depressing film.

Written and directed by Guillermo del Toro.

I saw this film about a week ago, on the same day as The Number 23 and The Queen. Frustrated that I had missed so many movies that I had wanted to see over the past several months, and having heard that Pan's Labrynth was such a good film (I think it was from Helen Mirren's acceptance speech at the Golden Globes), I figured it might be an interesting fantasy, albeit with some dark adult undertones, given the production stills I had seen for it, and Guillermo del Toro’s past work.

The film opens in the fascist Spain of 1944, where a bookish girl named Ofelia, arrives with her pregnant mother, Carmen, at the camp of a sadistic army general, Captain Vidal. Ofelia’s father is dead, and Vidal has married her mother in order to father an heir. Right from the start, we see that this is not a movie that kids should see without their parents. We see Vidal’s cruelty with people he suspects may be rebels when he shoots a father and son caught near the camp who were merely hunting rabbits to feed their family. I initially saw this as a legitimate setting that would justify the need of a child to retreat into a fantasy realm, but as the movie slogged on, and we are subjected to multiple scenes of war violence, including more than one torture scene, I saw that this was not a film kids should see at all. What’s more, I didn’t want to see it.

Mind you, I tried to give it a chance. I tried to see the merit in the dark setting, and in the somewhat sinister-mannerisms of the Faun (played with a machiavellian air by Doug Jones, who appeared as Abe Sapien in Hellboy, and who will appear in theaters this year as the Silver Surfer in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer). I wondered if his at-times villainous attitude toward Ofelia, the way he caresses her chin the way villains do, etc., was intended deliberately to keep the audience guessing as to his true nature, and in that regard, it worked.

But as the movie wore on, I wondered what the point of it all was. We see much more scenes of good people being murdered, tortured and executed then we see of the fantastic realm of the Faun, and most of that we do see of his subterranean lair is as ominous as the cruel life of Ofelia’s stepfather, even it is voluptuously and beautifully detailed. Score one for the art director. I didn’t find the movie to be at all joyous or life-affirming, even by the end. Too many of the “good guys” die, and the very existence of the Faun’s world is called into question by what happens to Ofelia, and the way her fate is executed, leaving me to wonder if it was all just the schizophrenic conjuring of a disturbed, unhappy girl. It could’ve been done a lot better. I don’t mind unhappy endings, mind you. I prefer it when it’s consistent with how the setup is portrayed, and doesn’t come off as the pathetic delusion of a sad little girl who deserved better.

Luigi Novi: God, what a depressing film.

No kidding.

SPOILER WARNING


I guess I am somewhat positive that the closing shot leads the nature of her fantasy world somewhat ambiguous. I like that it leaves us wondering.

I just rented this this week. It wasn't a bad movie in and of itself, but you are correct in that it is rather depressing.

The way I sqw it was that she was being tested to make sure she was worthy of being allowed back into the fantasy world and wasn't tainted by the evil that the mortal world had become. And so by not sacrificing the blood of her brother but winding up sacrificing herself (though technically it wasnt a sacrifice as she didnt seem to have a say in it)she showed she was still an innocent. As most of the tests still wound up having some theme of goodness and light at some degree.

But yeah overall the movie was a bit complex and at moments overdone on the darkside but also had a few great moments of character interaction and imagery. Especially at the end when the resistance lady tells the captain that his son will not even know his name. Overall I liked it.

I agree nearly 100% with Luigi's review. Just got it from Netflix last week, and felt like I wasted two valuable hours of Friday night movie watching time on this. I see very few movies where I find myself saying "Please END!!!" but I went from mild discomfort at the beginning to actively hating this movie.

To each their own. I personally disagree with most of Luigi's commetns other than the statement it was depressing. But oh well.