Heroism or Humanism? | Pan's Labyrinth (New Line Two-Disc Platinum Series)

Breathtaking and thought-provoking | Pan's Labyrinth (New Line Two-Disc Platinum Series) | Ivana Baquero, Sergi López

DVDs:


	• Pan's Labyrinth (New Line Two-Disc Platinum Series) Ivana Baquero, Sergi López New Line Home Video, 2007 average customer review:based on 653 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

you will love it

i realy love this movie, full of imagination, excellent soundtrack, beautiful history. Del Toro is real visionary director.

Heroism or Humanism?

Everybody's seen it. There are 650 reviews already. I don't need to recount the plot, do I?

My take on this film is colored by my years of visiting and living in Spain, from the first time in 1965 until spring of 2007. The content of a film is what the viewer thinks when she/he watches it. I thought of Franco and of Franco's special church-haunted fascism. Does Franco rhyme with macho? Close enough. Franquismo was about masculine honor, including the very masculine honor of God the Father as conceived by the Franquistas. I carry a fairly passionate hatred for Franquismo in my conscience, as passionate as that of most Spaniards today. That emotion certainly colored my experience of Pan's Labyrinth.

It's a film about the cost of heroism in terms of humanism. The two women characters are heroic in their loyalties and in their acceptance of suffering. The Communist guerillas are heroic in their stubborn and futile resistance to tyranny and brutality, but they are mere stock figures, scarcely individuals, scarcely at risk of self-doubt, mor eprops than characters. The doctor is a reluctant but unwavering hero, but he's a minor character. That leaves the girl Ofelia and the sadistic beast of fascist officer, Captain Vidal. The girl fantasizes heroism, and her fantasy is a story of its own. But the Captain is a flesh-and-blood human, the very worst exemplar of humanity at its most inhumane. Sergi Lopez is the star of this film, in my eyes, the masterfully acted embodiment of fascism in all its hatefulness. His concept of heroic honor, of the "real man's" heroic death, is the backdrop for every other character's actions, including the girl's fantasies. You out there in the audience? You want to understand fascism? Study Captain Vidal.

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Breathtaking and thought-provoking

This movie is among my favorites and is truly one of the best I have ever seen. I did not see it in theaters because at that point I was concerned by the amount of violence attributed to it. When I saw it on DVD, these suspicions were confirmed: it was a violent movie, sometimes I flinched at what I saw. However, none of this violence was, as some of the other reviewers suggested, gratuitous. There are scenes of torture, sadism, and military violence, but each scene ultimately contributes to either the tone of the movie or character development.

Pan's Labyrinth is a dark movie: it is a fairy tale in the oldest sense of the term, the sense that has been corrupted by the Disney-ized re-tellings. There is evil present both in Ofelia's fantasy world as well as that of fascist Spain.

One of the best parts of this movie is the juxtaposition between this fantasy world and the harsh militaristic reality Ofelia finds herself in. This also results in a psychologically complex situation. At the end of the film I could not help wondering whether the fantasy world Ofelia encounters is a product of her own imagination; the name Ofelia connotes insanity going back to the Ophelia of Othello. I spent probably a half an hour debating with myself, but could come up with no conclusion. There is a wonderful sense of ambiguity in this sense.

In addition to the story itself the rest of the movie's attributes measure up just as well. The acting is overall good (although something about the faun seems rather stiff), the score is beautiful, and the visuals are stunning. In its implications, the film explores human nature and imagination. Highly recommended.

As a side note, some people may be concerned that the movie is in Spanish. It is true that there is no English track, but the subtitles are easy to follow. In addition the Spanish contributes to the overall atmosphere of the movie.

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Beautiful Fantasy Masterpiece!

Some things are very strong and graphic (violance). The story is beautiful and very deep. I am 25 years old and it made me cry like a little girl. I LOVED it! Great movie. Masterpiece.

Following a bloody civil war young Ofelia enters a world of unimaginable cruelty when she moves in with her new stepfather a tyrannical military officer. Armed with only her imagination Ofelia discovers a mysterious labyrinth and meets a faun who sets her on a path to saving herself and her ailing mother. But soon the lines between fantasy and reality begin to blur and before Ofelia can turn back she finds herself at the center of a ferocious battle between good and evil.Running Time: 119 min.System Requirements:Runtime: 112 minsFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE/THRILLERS Rating: R UPC: 794043108877 Manufacturer No: N10887

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