Much better than any recent film I can think of! A few things to keep in mind:

*If you just want special effects and cool customes (it has both), you'll be disappointed.
*If you're expecting a pure fantasy film, you'll be disappointed.
*If you like movies where you don't have to think, you'll be disappointed.
*If you like deep stories, dealing with human mortality and conditions, you'll be happy.

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OK, so for those of you who have seen the film, what did you think of the symbolism? I personally loved the fact how Mercedes' actions paralleled the actions Ophelia took (such as Mercedes having to retreive the key to the medicine, and Ophelia having to retreive the key from the toad, etc). I think the tree represented life, and the Captain death. The second task was a bit harder to intpret, but it makes sense once you realize that del Toro said that the faceless monster represents institutions that brainwash children (hence the "slaying" of children) such as the Chuch (see: http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/new … ain_x.htm). As for Ophelia being tempted, that can represent the temptation put forth by the Church (an easy road, so to speak). As for the fact that some fairies got eaten, that also parallels the death of some of the resitance fighters. The last task represents morality. Ophelia decided not to sacrifice an innocent, which means she doesn't just obey orders but actually thinks about the consequences of her actions and whether they are right or wrong, which is completely different than what the Captain does.  Hence, by sacrificing herself, she passes the ultimate test, and is allowed to enter the underworld kingdom. Of course, the very last shot of the film shows her dead. Which begs the question: was the adventure all her imagination, or did she really return to the kingdom in the underworld? What do you think?

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I do have a question, for those of you who have seen the movie: why, during the second task, did Ophelia choose the left lock and not the middle lock as seen in the book and as pointed out by the fairies? As far as I can tell this shows that she was truly the princess because only the princess would know. Or am I mistaken?

cheers,

-avatar!

edit: clarified some things

Just saw it tonight, and I agree that it was a beautiful film, and I thought the performance by the little girl was amazing

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I like your interpretations, especially the parallel between Ofelia and Mercedes.  I think that there is definite reason to belive that everything was in her head, the only problem is how she escaped out of her room after the Captain threw her in it and had it guarded.  In the end I believe that it was just her imagination (the Captain doesn't see Pan), and I believe that adds to her character.
As far as the key, I'm not sure, but it could be that she partially mistrusted Pan much like the audience is led to believe.  Even cooler would be if there was some sort of clue that would be noticable from a second viewing!
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Just read a little more on the real/not real subject and it might be that the fantasy world is real to Ofelia, but imaginary to everyone else.  Reason: How did Ofelia escape from the dead end?  I think it comes down to whether or not you want to believe.

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As long as you can handle some violence (but be warned it is very graphic) I highly recommend Pan's Labyrinth

You do know there is a specific spoiler code available on this board, don't you?...

Hey Shinobin,

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I do agree, it might have all been in her head, but if it was all in her head, you have to question the part with the mandrake. Her mother inexplicably got better while Ophelia fed the mandrake, however she died right after the mandrake was burned. Of course, this is not proof that the magical underworld existed. Also, as for others not seeing the faun, I think this is because once you get too old, you stop believing in magic and can no longer see things. Again, that doesn't prove the magic part.  I see your point in her choosing the left lock, but why exactly was there a daggar in the left lock? I'm still pondering this.  At any rate, glad you enjoyed it
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Datschge: hey, I'm not familiar with any spoiler code, so I figure the way I did it would be more than clear enough to warn others of pending spoils!

cheers,

-avatar!

It involves setting the color code to white, which I have taken the liberty of doing for you guys in this post

{color=white}spoiler text{/color}

... and use normal brackets instead of the squiggly things.

Thanks, makes sense, now go see the movie!

-avatar!

Saw it yesterday.  Very good film.  I don't really have much to add to what you guys have already talked about, but I recommend it to anyone who's on the fence.

I saw the movie last night, and I will chime in with the chorus and say that it was a fantastic film. I was not as scary or as consistently violent as I was led to believe from a couple of people that saw the movie, but there were a few parts of intense cruelty and gore, even if they only lasted for a few seconds. The camera was unflinching at those points, which made it much more visceral than most other films.

Either way, like XLord said, if you're on the fence definitely take the plunge and go see it. It is an extrodinary film.

Here are a couple of things I've thought about...

Spoilers:

As a tangent to avatar!'s thoughts about Ophelia's actions paralleling Mercedes' actions, I feel that the whole "fantasy" or "fairy tale" part of the flick was really just one huge symbolic representation of Mercedes' real life journey throughout the movie. I mean, that's what a fairy tale is, right? A fantastic representation of something mundane with symbolism and real life parallels throughout? Although, I noticed that the different girls' actions were more opposite than similar, although they may seem very similar on the surface. The characters counterpointed each other, and here's why I feel that way:

- Mercedes was working with the doctor in secret on her "missions", but they both lived in fear of being caught by the Captain. Ofelia was working with the Faun, but she was actually vocal about it over time, and she was fearless. She even mentioned the Faun to her mother when the Captain found the mandrake root under the bed.

- Ofelia had to get the key during the first trial to open that little door in the second trial to get the dagger, which is a device that would bring death. Mercedes gave her key to the storeroom to her brother Pedro to get supplies and medicine for the troops, which would bring them life and health.

- At the end of the movie, Ofelia had to spill the blood of an innocent to become the princess of the underworld again. Mercedes (and company) had to spill the blood of the Captain to be able to live in peace in the real world again.

But even though their stories had some stark contrasts, there are some striking similarites between the women and their separate (albeit conjoined) tales, especially in their motives and selflessness. They both have "happy" endings, if you choose to look at Ofelia's that way, which I found hard not do to after seeing how glorious things were with her "real" father and mother in the underworld. They were both selfless and put themselves at great risk to help others, even if the methods were very different; Mercedes helping the troops and Ofelia using the mandrake root to help her mother while she was bearing the weight and sickness of her pregnancy. They both knew the consequences of being caught by the Captain, and although Ofelia was ironically unafraid (oh, to be a child), they both put their lives on the line and went through with their missions regardless.

So, yeah. The more I think about it, the deeper it goes. I was a little disappointed at first that it wasn't as scary as I was led to believe, but that quickly faded away while I was being consumed by the great tale.

Man, I really can't recommend this movie enough.

Glad you liked it! I hadn't thought about the differences that you mentioned, but seeing Mercedes as a grown Ophelia certainly makes sense! I saw another "deep" film tonight, and although it's a movie most people will probably never see, it's on a VERY VERY important topic...food. The move is 'The Future of Food'. Definitely not for everyone, but if you're a conscientous individual and feel like an intellectual movie, you can go for it!

http://www.thefutureoffood.com/trailer.htm

By the way, the "evil" committed by the corporation Monsanto, makes Microsoft look like an angel, and I aint' kiddin'!
-avatar!

Well, I finally watched it tonight and I regret not seeing it sooner.

Great movie! Just one thing I've never figured out, during the second task, how does Ofelia know where the dagger is? If I remember correctly she's told it's in one of the locked safes, but then she says "no" and chooses the correct one. How does she know?

cheers,

-avatar!

Have you tried watching the movie with the commentary or utilizing all the special features on either the single disc or double disc release?

No, I just saw it in the theatres, and haven't purchased it. If you do watch it with any commentary, let me know if they say anything about how she knew where the dagger lay hidden.

cheers,

-avatar!

I just got back from Best Buy with, amongst other things, the 2 disc edition.  Who knows when I'll get around to actually watching it again because I got other stuff too (and I DLed the Eternal Sonata demo), but I'll let you know soon enough.

Am I the only person to buy this movie on here?  My friend has raved about it since he saw it in theaters; oddly enough, when my friends do that it turns me off all the more (same for games too, like Oblivion and now Mass Effect).  You'd think I'd have learned my lesson with V For Vendetta (great movie!), but I still hold a grudge about Sin City (he thinks its great---I think it is one of the worst films ever).  Now he's going on about Hot Fuzz...

Saw the film on everyone's recommendation, loved it to bits. Like Hellraiser mixed with Neverending Story.

f---, man. I always miss out on these movies when they first hit. Can you believe I just saw The Iron Giant last night? That was a great movie, as well. Also got Prince of Egypt sitting here waiting to be watched.

I think it's a great movie, but buying movies on DVD doesn't make sense for me since I'd probably never make the time to watch them.

Yep, that one was directed by Brad Bird of The Incredibles and Ratatouille fame.  It's almost universally agreed; the man's three for three in terms of awesome animation films.

I picked up and watched the single-disc version of Pan's Labyrinth last week; no arguments here, it's a beautifully-crafted and deeply symbolic film.  Yet for all of its symbolism and deeper meanings, I personally found that I enjoyed the movie best when taking it at face value; a tale of a fantastical world that really did co-exist with a war-torn reality.  The prologue in the beginning pretty much lays down the groundwork of Ofelia's character and her eventual destiny; believing she's anything other than the princess of the underworld, who's fated to depart her mortal prison and return back to whence she came seems like an unnecessary stretch of the imagination.  The story of the revolution is filled with gripping drama, due in no small part to the great acting and strong character architecture. There were some powerful moments that genuinely shocked me, like when Mercedes broke free from Videl's torture, and "gutted him like a pig" -- that literally made me say "Oh, shit" out loud.  The tight emphasis on plot devices, such as the stock room key, the pocket watch, and the antibiotic was handled well.

But I especially love Javier Navarrete's music score.  It's got a strong progressive structure, with the lullaby main theme befitting of the movie's mood.  The CD release comes highly recommended; at just under 74 minutes, it's a robust and lengthy package, and I think I read somewhere that del Toro managed to fit close to the entire score on the CD.  True or not, all of the significant cues appear to have made it on here.

I'll listen to the audio commentary the next time around, but as far as the dagger goes, there's no real explaination as to why Ofelia chooses the left lock, is there?  Thrown into question is the reliability of the faeries and the details etched in the book.... That sure doesn't help the logic.

I don't know if it was mentioned, but I was surprised at the attention paid to minor sounds, like the leather grip of his gloves, and such.  Another thing, according to Wikipedia, the guy who played Vidal almost wasn't cast because the studio tried talking del Toro out of it.  I honestly can't believe it, but he is apparently a comic actor in Spain and they obviously were typecasting him.  I can't imagine anyone else doing it; he played that part perfectly.  The same goes for all the other actors/actresses as well.  And the translation, which was handled personally by the director, was brilliant.

Also, I'll second Angela---I take it at face value.  A friend that went on and on about this movie did get the 2-disc set and, when I told him about the discussion here, went on and on about how this is intended to be a fairy tale movie and, as such, it is to be taken at face value regarding the fairy tale.  I forgot to bring up the dagger thing though.

I'll be damned, regarding Prince of Egypt, but Brad Bird's connection to Iron Giant may have just got me something else to try and see.  Thanks a lot, Angela...

Yeah, the sound mixing is terrific in this movie; it's times like these I'm glad I invested in a good sound system.  It grabbed me the first time that faerie whizzed around the screen; it was like it was in the room with me!

And I agree, del Toro's translation and subtitle work was particularly sublime.  I had no idea, though, until viewing the Wikipedia article, that Alfonso Cuarón had a hand in the writing and production.  Pretty cool.

If you get a chance, ask him about the dagger. I'd really like to find out what's up with it
Thanks,

-avatar!

He said it was "just another instance of choice.  disobeyal.  one of the central themes."  Succinct, eh?