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Post by KoNeko on Jan 28, 2007 12:23:37 GMT -5
Oh wow. I saw this and was very pleasantly surprised. The idea of a movie with magic books and faries and fauns and whatnot in it put me off at first, but when you realize that it's set right after the Spanish Civil War and that it's incredibly dark (some people says it borders on horror - I don't think it does, except for maybe one scene)... yeah. The coloring and set design and whatnot are really amazing, and the plot seemed to read well. I know that in the US it's rated R, but are there any others out there that have seen this and want to comment?
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Calavera Diablos
Ravenclaw Alumni
Draws grown men wearing underpants outside their trousers
Posts: 1,547
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Post by Calavera Diablos on Jan 30, 2007 2:19:16 GMT -5
I personally loved the film. I expected a little more in the realm of fantasy... It's hard to describe. I suppose I was prepared to see more of a Labyrinth-esque plot to unfold, but I was by no means dissapointed.
The graphic violence, though I was warned, still managed to shock me and my cynical gorehound mentality. The special effects, costumes and makeup were especially impressive. I loved the design of the faun and the groaning, tree in the wind sounds his body made.
I wasn't prepared to feel slightly depressed afterwards, nor did I expect to find myself crying during the movie. Truly, I felt that Pan's Labyrinth was a groundbreaking piece of cinema.
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Post by Sphi on Jan 31, 2007 0:01:07 GMT -5
Hmm I've never heard of it. But after listening to you guys talk about it and then looking up some more info, I really want to see it...despite the monster-like thing I saw in a picture. As long as it's not too horror-ish, I'll be good.
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Post by KoNeko on Jan 31, 2007 2:51:52 GMT -5
Monster-ish thing? You mean the pale man? That was the scariest scene, and it wasn't too bad. There are horror aspects to it, but interestingly most of the scary bits pertain not to scary monsters in the protagonist's fantasy world stuff but more of the brutality of what people can do to each other.
[SPOILER-ISH but not really]I don't know, but I think the real monster in the movie probably wasn't something from the Labyrinth, but Mr. Crazy captain and his incredibly violent tendencies towards the rebels, especially that one scene with the two men and the bottle. Ugh. [/SPOILER] But yeah, I really loved so many things in the movie. I expected more fantasy-type stuff, but I liked how the story unfolded with the parallels between the real world and the labyrinth world. And I really loved how they did the Faun though. It was so mythological and everything. And his spanish was surprisingly good, considering the actor that plays him doesn't actually speak Spanish at all.[/color]
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Calavera Diablos
Ravenclaw Alumni
Draws grown men wearing underpants outside their trousers
Posts: 1,547
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Post by Calavera Diablos on Jan 31, 2007 19:25:13 GMT -5
I didn't think of that connection before, Koko. That's pretty cool if it was intentional and it makes sense. For some odd reason, watching the Captain shave creeped me out.
I'm agreeing with Koneko, the horror aspects were terrifying because all of the bloodiest scenes happened in the "real world" and were connected to the historical backdrop of the film.
The Faun had a cool voice, it really seemed to fit the character. I had no idea his actor didn't speak Spanish, but more props to him for pulling it off.
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Post by KoNeko on Feb 1, 2007 23:58:33 GMT -5
Gah, yeah... watching the captain shave was so weird, it was like I was waiting for him to nick himself and start bleeding everywhere and everything. Every time he shaved I would start cringing, especially because he had that straight razor and would sometimes pause with it right against his face and I'd be like... urgghh... But the sewing up his mouth bit was so cringeworthy at the same time too... yuck... [/SPOILER] Yeah, the guy who was the Faun and the Pale Man (who didn't creep me out at the time, but in retrospect really perturbs me) is Doug Jones, who also was the Aqua Sapiens guy in Hellboy. [/color]
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Post by Nie on Feb 4, 2007 8:27:12 GMT -5
I really did enjoy this movie, regardless of the macabre overtones and violence.
It's the second Spanish film I've seen. The first one was about Spanish migrants in Australia. I really want to find more Spanish films to watch now.
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Post by KoNeko on Feb 4, 2007 12:05:59 GMT -5
Oooh, if you liked this movie, it might also be worth checking out The Devil's Backbone which was the first post Spanish Civil War fantasy-type movie made by the same director. I don't know anything else about it but we're getting it at my house so I'll let you know how it compares.
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Post by Sphi on Feb 6, 2007 1:26:24 GMT -5
Alright, so instead of studying, I decided to go watch this movie. I'm still stunned. I mean, I loved it, but I can see what you guys mean now about how dark and violent it is. Yet it's so infused with feeling that you can't help but cry for the characters along the way.Monster-ish thing? You mean the pale man? That was the scariest scene, and it wasn't too bad. Yeah, it was the Pale Man that I saw in pictures. I'll admit, I still had to avert my eyes a little during the chase scene. But like you said, the real monsters were the Captain and his men.
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Post by KoNeko on Feb 25, 2007 19:19:55 GMT -5
Yeah, it wasn't the pale man himself that freaked me out as much as it was the sound of screaming babies and whatever during the chase scene, and the fact that he walked all freaky-like (it sort of reminded me of how creepy people walk in Ring and that kind of stuff).
But yeah... as for monsters, anyone recall the "farmers hunting rabbits" scene? Brutal.
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Post by cissy bee on Aug 9, 2007 13:54:53 GMT -5
The "farmers hunting rabbits" scene is the worst, for me. Anyone see this in theatres? I was in the first row (sold out show, got there late of course) and this scene seemed to go on forever on the big screen...so awful. This movie is really beautifully done, despite the horror. Even the Pale Man (who I could hardly bear to look at the first time) is kind of enchanting the more you watch him. Did it bother anyone else how closely this part of the movie followed the Greek myth of Persephone? I know the fantasy elements of the movie are adapted from iconic fairy tale/myth motifs but that scene seemed cheapened to me somehow. Does anyone know what the other two quests were adapted from? They seemed familiar to me, but not something directly modeled after one particular story.
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