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23 January 2007

Pan's Labyrinth Holy crap. See it. Now. [More:]Best film I've seen in a long time. Creepy. Haunting. Spanish. Ummm....creepy.
I saw a preview for it and thought it looked cool. Of course it might not even play here. Heh.
posted by weretable and the undead chairs 23 January | 00:04
One theater, one screen in Baton Rouge. But there were nearly fifty people there for the last show on a Monday night, so....there's hope.
posted by ColdChef 23 January | 00:05
I am! I so fucking am, it hurts. First chance I get. Del Torro and Lopez. Imaginary "friends" in Franco's Spain. Isn't that what cinema was made for?
posted by carmina 23 January | 00:52
I was a bit disappointed, ColdChef. Also: Potential viewers should be aware that it features extreme graphic violence and gore.
posted by agropyron 23 January | 01:09
Disappointed, huh? I went in cold. No reviews, no expectations. (Well, to be fair, diminished expectations, since I hated "Hellboy." (Okay, maybe not "Hated", but...not my thing)) This, though. Wow.

Oh, and the warning about the violence and gore is accurate. (Even though SOME of the gore is oddly...not gory...particularly some of the gunshot wounds.)
posted by ColdChef 23 January | 01:18
I've tried to see it twice here in L.A., and each time it's been sold out. Perhaps the third time will be a charm...
posted by scody 23 January | 01:30
The local Odeon had it for a week and I missed it there. However, our local arts centre, a converted church, is showing it in March. It's so great sitting in an old converted church with people who really want to be there to see the film. I saw Sophie Scholl there last year and there people in the audience in traditional Jewish costume, something I've never seen in my town. I didn't even know we had a Jewish community, but apparently we do.
posted by TheDonF 23 January | 01:58
Scody, Fandango!
posted by joshuaconner 23 January | 02:43
Pan's Labyrinth is stunning, brutal and beautiful. And yes, it is incredibly violent in parts, though perhaps we need to find a better word than gore. Gore implies gratuity, and none of what is shown is presented for pure shock. Instead, Del Torro uses violence to establish character (particularly in the case Vidal, as I've rarely seen evil more convincing) and to remind us that reality can be just as nightmarish as anything we imagine.

I guess I'm just saying, don't be swayed away. See it.
posted by grabbingsand 23 January | 07:06
I'm missing an "of."
posted by grabbingsand 23 January | 07:07
I was avoiding it because of "Hellboy." Thanks for the tip, Chef.
posted by BoringPostcards 23 January | 08:05
It was shown here for one week at the local multiplex at midnight each day, so I missed it - damn that art house labelling.
posted by Arqa 23 January | 08:34
My father-in-law loved it, and I don't he's the type who would typically go for a gory movie. He's babysitting for us on 2/3 so we can see it.
posted by danostuporstar 23 January | 09:33
It got six Oscar nominations, including Best Foreign Language Film. I think it should have gone into the Best Picture Category. Weird nominations this year. Peter O'Toole?
posted by ColdChef 23 January | 09:37
Hopefully spoiler-free, but I will mention some generalities:

I can definitely see that he tried to use the violence as part of the message. I didn't find it that convincing. Clearly the Captain was intended to be over-the-top, and pure evil. It is a fairy tale after all. I just didn't buy him. I think the movie would have been improved if the violence were toned down.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the movie. The last fairy-tale type movie I saw was Lady in the Water, and this was a thousand times better than that piece of crap. I did have high expectations because I was told it was so amazing. I would rate it 8/10, where I was expecting a 9.2/10.
posted by agropyron 23 January | 11:14
I saw it in LA. Absolutely incredible. Nthing everyone's comments about violence--don't take the kids; it's not a Disney fairy tale. But it is a fairy tale of the oldest kind, the Grimm kind.

It's beautiful. Go see it.
posted by Fuzzbean 23 January | 11:51
Wonderful film. It definitely deserved a best picture nomination. The Academy was not very adventurous with its picks this year. (I mean, I thought Little Miss Sunshine was amusing and all, but of the two dozen or so movies I saw last year, it wouldn't even crack my top ten.)
posted by Atom Eyes 23 January | 12:48
I saw it a couple of weeks ago and thought it was fantastic, tho the violence was a bit much at times. Maribel Verdu is such a bad ass in the movie.
posted by smich 23 January | 13:00
YES! loved it, loved it, loved it. Go see it if you can. Amazing. I had no expectations though, so don't read any reviews. Go in cold. Gorgeous. Stunning. Powerful.
posted by SassHat 23 January | 15:02
Hard to go in without expectations after reading the raves in this thread. ;)
posted by agropyron 23 January | 15:16
YES! loved it, loved it, loved it. Go see it if you can. Amazing. I had no expectations though, so don't read any reviews. Go in cold. Gorgeous. Stunning. Powerful.


But you're drunk. Should I believe you?
posted by danf 23 January | 16:22
I'm pretty much sober now, and I stand behind every word. Ask me tomorrow, I'll tell you the same. LOVE IT.
posted by SassHat 23 January | 17:36
The little girl was awesome. And that was a pretty tough role for a kid.
posted by amro 23 January | 17:55
I saw it. I did. I cried in the end. Didn't you? How could you not? It is wonderful. By far, very far, very high and very out, the best fucking movie of the year.

A fantastic story, full of allegories and references to certain present situations (no?), Ofelia, a fusion of Alice and Dorothy, sent in Hell. I particularly liked a small but deliberate and extremely well done cinematic smack on the Church's complicity (I almost cheered). It was very violent, indeed, a certain scene now defines the new movie-thrill for me. You know, the one with the doctor.

The little girl is awesome, yes amro, I rarely like little kid roles, but she did an excellent job. A++mazing.

And it was full house tonight which applauded heartily in the end. There is a certain kind of bond formed when there is such a good movie playing and you are sitting so close to strangers.
posted by carmina 29 January | 00:10
Oh man, I just saw it tonight and cried like a baby. I have to stop seeing movies that make me do that, though it does look good for me. The previous movie I saw was The Fountain and I have a date this week to go see Children of Men. Maybe I just need to invest in stock in Kleenex.

I went in knowing nothing about the film, I didn't even know it was in Spanish! I think I could have used a warning that it would wrench my heart out of my chest, step on it, and then replace it, bleeding and bloody, while trying to give me a hug.

(I liked it so much, I even made a post about it.)
posted by grapefruitmoon 29 January | 01:24
I rarely cry on movies. Seriously. I did tonight too. I did not see your post until after I wrote here. I hug 'ya baby many times!

I cross posted this thread on your Mefi thread. There!
posted by carmina 29 January | 01:33
Are you disgruntled || It's a me3dia sighting!

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