PAN'S LABYRINTH

 

I'm not too keen on fantasy films. Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Chronicles of Narnia... Nopes, just don't like them. I love fairies and goblins and magic and wonder to look at but as far as the narrative goes the only fantasy film i love, and i mean love, is my childhood favourite Peter Pan.

I hate the Disney version of the story but from Peter Pan the book, to Hook, Finding Neverland and the 2003 live action adaptation that had pre-teen girls everywhere falling in love with Jeremy Sumpter, that fantastical story held me captivated throughout childhood and even to this day every time i open the book or put on one of the films i get swept back to my childhood, where evil pirates, mischevious fairies and beautiful mermaids ruled my imagination.

Peter Pan (2003)

  I did enjoy fantasy films when i was younger but as i grew up i found this genre particularly unappealing and aside from Peter Pan and other nostalgic films from my childhood, i've found that fantasy films just aren't able to maintain my interest and i've generally avoided them.

Pan's Labyrinth was different though. I've mentioned my love of Guillermo Del Toro previously and it is this love and this faith i have in him as a director that finally convinced me to give this film a chance. I knew it was very highly regarded and i also knew that Del Toro dabbles in the darker side of fantasy, making his very own, unique fantasy-horror hybrid that i found appealing. The beautiful aesthetics of a fantasy film combined with the darkness of a horror mixed in with the emotive narrative's that Del Toro is also reknowned for made me think i would actually be in for a cinematic treat.

I am pleased to say that i was right.

Pan's Labyrinth is set in fascist Spain during 1944 and Ofelia, an 11-year-old girl played by the wonderful Ivana Baquero, is sent with her pregnant mother to live with her new stepfather - the evil captain of the Spanish army. One night Ofelia meets a fairy who takes her to a secret labyrinth where she meets a faun who tells her that she is really the princess of the fantastical underworld but to prove herself and to gain entrance to this World she must complete three tasks before the next full moon.

Although the main concept of the film is fantasy and the beautiful aesthetics throughout really reinforce that, i feel the reality side of things; the brutality of the Spanish cival war and the cold blooded nature of Ofelia's stepfather, are a perfect juxtaposition that makes the fantasy all the more magical. It isn't a film that follows true fantasy conventions; the fairies aren't pretty, floaty Tinkerbell's and the Faun looks more like a villain than a saviour and i could never quite tell if he was actually nice or really just a calculating chancer who was using Ofelia to complete tasks for his own gain. The tasks that Ofelia is given are gruesome and in some instances terrifying and in addition to this there are quite a few scenes of graphic violence that had me grimacing.

The real world was scary and violent and traumatic but the fantasy world wasn't much better, something that most definitely sets Pan's Labyrinth apart from other such films. And, just as i suspected, there was your fair share of heartache as Del Toro stuck to his usual style of creating a strong emotional bond between the protagonists and the audience before putting his protagonist through a heartbreaking trauma. As well as scares and grimaces there were plenty of opportunities for tears too.

I enjoyed this film because fantasy wasn't it's focus; it wasn't the be all and end all of the film  and the main essence actually ran a lot deeper than great CGI and make-up. It is a heart-warming, heart-breaking, bittersweet story of a young girl living through the true horror of war. There was also an air of mystery surrounding the film - i couldn't guess what the next task would be, what would happen next or even if the faun was good or bad. I could never tell what was around the corner and that is a rare feat in film nowadays and i think that is why it managed to captivate me in such a way; the film doesn't patronize the audience and i like that.

There was one aspect of the film that did lose me a little bit and up until this point i was thinking 'Wow this is amazing' and following this particular scene the thought process got downgraded to a simple 'Wow, this is pretty good'. As i am not giving away spoilers on this blog, i will say for those who have seen it that the temptation during the second task and Ofelia's reaction to it did make me lose a bit of the love that i had for her as a character. It just seemed too unnecessary and i know originally Ofelia was going to be an 8-year-old girl and maybe in that sense it would have been more understandable but as the film stands, with Ofelia as 11, it just seemed like unjustified stupidity on her part.

Other than that, Pan's Labyrinth is a great film and i do recommend you watch it. Guillermo Del Toro is fast becoming one of my favourite directors.

All in all Pan's Labyrinth loses a star for the second task, so i award it: ★★★★☆

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Love,

ARGO

 

Over this awards season i have really grown to love Ben Affleck and his scraggly beard. Sure, before i had always kind of liked the guy - after all we do have him and Matt Damon to thank for one of the greatest film's of all time: Good Will Hunting - and he seemed decent enough as a person but not many of his films really struck me as anything special so i never had a real passion for him. However, seeing his reaction to winning the prestigious Best Director BAFTA combined with his beautiful wife Jennifer Garner's reaction as she practically burst with pride as her hubby took to the stage with his acceptance speech...It made it hard not to fall in love with them as a couple and want him to succeed even more so that we could be treated to some more adorable displays of pride and affection. 

Jennifer Garner after husband Ben Affleck is announced as the Best Director winner

So when the Oscar's came around i had everything crossed that Ben Affleck and Argo would win big and was probably almost as proud as Jen was when Argo was announced as 2013's Best Picture.

(Oh, to be clear as a sidenote i hadn't actually seen Argo by this point, this is a minor factor.)

I've never really held the Oscar's decisions in high regard. After the monstrosity of 1999 where Shakespeare in Love beat Life is Beautiful to the Best Picture Oscar whilst American History X wasn't even nominated... I kind of just gave up on the award nonsense then. I already knew that the 2013 Oscar's weren't doing much better than 1999 with awarding the most deserving nominee after Jennifer Lawrence won Best Actress for Silver Linings Playbook over the absolutely incredible, out of this World performance from six-year-old Quvenzhane Wallis in Beasts of the Southern Wild. I get angry about this particular injustice every day and with such examples i ironically didn't have heightened expectations of Argo, despite it's Oscar win.

I finally got round to watching Argo last week and even though i wasn't expecting anything terrific i was still slightly disappointed. Ben's scraggly beard had let me down and i really wasn't prepared for that! Don't get me wrong, the most frustrating thing about Argo is that it isn't bad... It just isn't... good. As the true life story of how America rescued a group of hostages from Iran by pretending they are filming a Hollywood movie, Argo,... I kind of expected a bit more action? As i said in my last post, i am not the kind of person who needs big explosions and drama to enjoy a film but not a lot really seemed to happen in Argo. A basic plot summary would be:

1. The hostages are captured
2. The CIA wonder how they can free them
3. Ben Affleck suggests the fake movie
4. They get to work on the fake movie
5. Ben Affleck goes to Iran 
6. Ben Affleck frees the hostages
7. A bit of drama at the airport
8. The hostages arrive home and are safe

I don't know about you but i just expected a little more action inbetween points 5 and 6, it all seemed way too easy. The scenes towards the end of the film where they are in the airport trying to get through security without being identified as the hostages were great, i will hand Affleck that. They were really high tension, even if they weren't high drama and the tension is more than satisfactory for a film of this stance but twenty minutes of tension from a two hour film is most definitely not satisfactory for the film as a whole and nowhere near enough to carry the rest of the boring film.

I know this was based on a true story and for all i know maybe they did get the hostages that easily, with that little drama or confrontation. But since when has Hollywood been wary of dramatizing and exaggerating true stories?! Argo has already faced criticism from Canada and Iran for it's distortion of the truth so it isn't as though they were desperate to maintain complete accuracy... There just could have been something more.

It was well directed though. The story was boring but the direction can't be faulted i guess.

I award Argo  ★★★☆☆  because, as i said, it wasn't bad. It just wasn't good.

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Love,

LITTLE CHILDREN

My favourite kind of film tends to be those 'slice of life' films. I know in my last post i said that i love horror films but trust me, if i love horror films i am pretty much married to 'slice of life'. You know the ones - a little two hour snippet of what appears to be the completely plausible, normal, everyday lives and the darkness that consequently lies behind those perfect suburban doors. Think Revolutionary Road or Closer or Magnolia or Lost in Translation (Which, ironically, i hate). My all time favourite 'slice of life' film is Another Happy Day, which is also one of my all time favourite films and stars one of the greatest young actors of this generation (Ezra Miller).

Little Children is exactly one of those kind of films, it's an insight into the four seemingly normal lives of your average, every day people; a married man and a married woman, a disgraced police officer and a man who has recently been released from prison after exposing himself to a minor. Four lives that are interconnected in ways that will become clear and four lives that are actually a lot more sinister once you scratch the surface.

Now let me get something clear - this isn't a very dramatic film. Not too much happens and compared to a film like American Beauty it might just fall a bit flat but the concept behind it is very relatable and fascinating to watch; but as these kinds of films are my favourite there is a chance that i am being a little biased. But what does happen to a perfect neighbourhood when, well, a paedophile is back on the streets? What does happen when you fall for somebody who isn't your spouse? How do you deal with the gossip surrounding your affair? It is a simple film but it is so beautifully acted and beautifully composed that i think the simpleness of the narrative  adds to the overall essence rather than have any kind of negative impact.

I have to warn you that i you are the kind of person that needs action, explosions, guns and shouting to make it through a film then it may not be for you but if you prefer exploring the complexities of life and relationships then sit back and enjoy, you are in for a treat!

Also bare in mind that as this is a Kate Winslet film there is, needless to say, a lot of nudity. Alongside some pretty graphic sex scenes so maybe don't watch this one with the 'rents.

All in all, i award Little Children ★★★☆☆

Stay tuned for more things film and follow me on Twitter if you fancy it :) 

Love,