Greetings all you insomniacs and…whatever the female version of insomniac is, I go by TheCinemaChick! It’s one in the morning and I just finished watching two, count ‘em, two movies. First was Let The Right One In, which is a Swedish film that Let Me In was based off of. It was decent, but that’s not what I’m going to discuss. My second film was Pan’s Labyrinth. This one’s a lovely little gem from Guillermo Del Toro, the same man who gave us the boring “Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark” that I reviewed earlier this year.
Pan’s Labyrinth is about Ofelia and her life as her mother relocates them to the country to live with her new stepfather. Her mother is pregnant with a little boy, but isn’t in the best of health. Her stepfather is the evil and often sadistic Vidal. Ofelia hates it as soon as she moves in, but her mother insists things will get better. She finds a stick bug which turns itself into a fairy and leads her to the labyrinth. This is where she meets the Faun. He tells Ofelia she is really Princess Moanna, daughter of the kind of the Underworld. In order to prove that she really is royalty, she must do three tasks.
First, she is sent to collect a key from the stomach of a large toad living in a dying fig tree but stuffing three stones in its mouth. Ofelia is triumphant but her mother’s health takes a sharp decline. The Faun gives her a mandrake, telling her to set it in fresh milk and feed it two drops of blood a day. She does this, happy to see that her mother improves almost immediately.
The second task proves to be a bit of a challenge. Ofelia must take the key and draw a door that leads to the lair of the Pale Man, who seems to have a constant craving for children. She has two rules: Don’t eat or drink anything and be back before the sand in her hourglass runs out. The Faun lets his three fairies guide her and she finds a dagger that she is supposed to bring back. However, temptation gets the best of her. She eats two grapes, causing Pale Man to come to life and devour two fairies. Ofelia makes it back but the Faun is angry with her for not following his rules.
While all this is going on, we do get to see what’s going on in the real world. Vidal is freaking insane. He kills two farmers. Warning that scene is graphic. He bashes a guys head in with a bottle and shoots his father. Later, he tortures a rebel who happens to have a stutter and when the doctor euthanizes him, he shoots the doctor. Ofelia is caught caring for the mandrake, which infuriates Vidal. Carmen, her mother, throws the plant into the fire which causes her health to sharply decline. She delivers a son, but dies in the process. Mercedes, a maid and spy for the rebels, decides to leave. Ofelia begs to come with her and the two run off, only to be caught.
Vidal locks Ofelia in a bedroom and attempts to torture Mercedes. Well, turns out she can fend for herself. She stabs Vidal three times: once in the back shoulder, once in the chest and in the mouth, making him look like the Joker. Vidal sends his men after her, but they are killed by the rebels. The Faun returns, telling Ofelia she has one last chance to prove herself. She is told to get her brother and take him into the labyrinth, no questions asked. Ofelia does as told and manages to get the baby to the place where the Faun is, but things take a twist.
In order to open the portal, an innocent’s blood must be shed. The Faun intends to use her brother, but Ofelia refuses. Vidal takes the baby back, then shoots her. He leaves the labyrinth only to come face to face with the rebels. Accepting that he’s finally lost, he gives his son to Mercedes, asking her to tell the child about him. She refuses and Vidal is shot in the face. Mercedes hurries into the labyrinth to find Ofelia, but it’s too late. She hums a lullaby and Ofelia dies. While Ofelia is dead to the mortal world, she is reunited with her father in the Underworld. It’s really a bittersweet ending.
I’ve been wanting to see this movie for a while and finally got around to it tonight. After seeing Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark, I was slightly apprehensive, even though Pan’s Labyrinth has had some rave reviews. I have to admit, I was impressed. It made me squirm, it had me hooked and at times, I had to look away. The setting is absolutely beautiful and del Toro has once again proved that he is quite possibly a genius. The Faun did make me think of the Angel of Death from Hellboy 2, but I’ll overlook that this time.
The plot is solid, the acting is top notch and yes, there are a few mistakes but those are also easy to overlook. I loved it. I wish I’d bought it because I do want to watch it over and over again. While I didn’t like the scene where Ofelia is killed because I’m against any act of violence towards children, it’s appropriate and fitting.
The one drawback is that the movie is in Spanish but it does have English subtitles. This really takes away from the film. If you don’t speak the language, you’ll have to quickly read the lines while trying to absorb what’s going on. I normally have subtitles on anyway just in case there’s a line I didn’t quite catch but in this case, I had no options. I suck at Spanish which is odd since my father is fluent. My Latin is much better. I’d like to learn French too.
I highly recommend this, but be warned, there is some intense violence in some scenes. Lots of people get shot, someone is tortured, there’s an amputation and the scene where Vidal stitches himself…I freaked out. I can handle damn near anything at this point but medical stuff is still beyond me. Trust me, I’ve had to do some medical things like change bandages and clean wounds, but it still bothers me. I’ve never been good with blood and the sight of it alone makes me very nauseated.
So there you have it. Let the Right One In is worth a look if you’re in the mood for a morbid Swedish vampire romance and Pan’s Labyrinth was a visual masterpiece. I’d lean towards the second movie however. The first one, while good, was slow and gruesome at points.
Also, if you read my entry entitled, “Acoustic”, I apologize for it. I wanted to help someone out and I’m pretty sure that blog was a waste of my time. It will be deleted later today, after I’ve slept. Why not do it now? Because honestly, I need to sleep off the booze. I’m a bit tipsy right now so I might make a bigger mess than I already have.
I’m TheCinemaChick and I don’t drink often but I am an adult and if I choose to have an adult drink every so often, that’s my choice.
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