Pan and His Labyrinth

Since taking a film reviewing class I have found that I really do have a greater appreciation for films. Since taking that class I've made it a point to go to the movies at least once a week, normally on the weekend. This weekend was no different.

I had be dying to see "Pan's Labyrinth" for the past couple of weeks. I saw one 15 second commerial about it and I was hooked and had to see it! I tend to like films that are overly creative and very different from what the general public likes (for example my all time favorite film, which people always question is the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre). This film seemed to fit all of my requirements.

So, needless to say my friends and I went to see "Pan's Labyrinth" Saturday night. If you can sit through 2 hours of subtitles (because it's all in Spanish) that I would definitely reccomend it to anyone. I loved the story behind it, the graphics and special effects were beyond amazing, and the cast did an outstanding job, especially three of the (what I would say are) the main characters. Ofelia, who was the little girl. Captain Vidal, who as much as you hated the character, you loved how the actor portrayed it, and Mercedes, a servant to the Captain who had more courage in her pinky finger than most of the female roles today.

Though, I have to admit, it was a very violent film. Between scenes of war, and scenes when a person's mouth is getting slit (almost a Chelsea Smile), it can make anyone cringe, especailly if you're not used to watching stuff like that. I however, found those parts to be just as intriguing as the rest of the film.

After watching this film, and watching one of my friends cringe several times, I thought about how I must have a high tolerance for violence. I guess years of watching gore/horror films has made me, I don't want to say more comfortable, but maybe resilient to it.

Another aspect of the film that I liked is how Pan was portrayed. In case you didn't know Pan is faun, who is supposedly the son of Zeus in mythology. The portrayal of Pan was amazing, and he really did look like a faun, or like many of the pictures you could look up of him. Everyone's interpretation of Pan is different, but this one, for me at least, was a great portrayal.

In general I would go see this film again in a heartbeat. It was just that good.