Pan's Labyrinth

Well I saw the movie "Pan's Labyrinth" the other day and I have to say I was majorly impressed. Everything form the acting to the score are just spot on, wonderful. I saw the trailer in spanish first, and then I saw the English one, and I have to say, the trailers are slightly misleading, only in as much of the content of the trailer is fantasy, while the movie deals as much with real world actions as it does the fantasy world.

I found the level of violence to be a bit much for me, but I totally understand why it's so graphic. It really puts you in the position of the charaters. So even though you may not be familiar with the time, setting, events, or people...quickly you get the idea of the gravity of the situation these charaters are facing. Also the I think the reason Del Torro has the number of fantastical scenes to a minimum is because it creates a feeling in the veiwer, similar to what Ofelia is feeling. She is surrounded by all this violence, all this fear, loneliness, scariness. And, by watching, so are you. You're longing for the faun, longing for something to take you back to that world, away from the harsh reality, which is exactly what Ofelia is thinking as well. I think it was an editorial choice to help the veiwer identify with Ofelia better.

I have to admit I was expecting the visuals to...lag a bit, but they were all wonderful. The suits are just, so ...words cannot discribe that jolt you get the first time you see the faun, or the pale man, they look so, so real.

I think people should see this movie. Even if you end up not liking it as a whole, I think there are enough different elements in this movie to please most people. Violence, beautiful women, and action for the macho men. And a beautiful, emotional story for the sappy chicks. And just enought fantastical elements to keep a nerd like me happy.