Pan's Labyrinth

[qos]

I finally watched Pan's Labyrinth last night when _storyteller_ was visiting. Everything you've heard about it is true. It's visually gorgeous, with a powerful, mythic story.

My pleasure in the movie was enhanced by _storyteller_'s knowledge of fairy lore, which surpasses my own. In several cases, he made observations about what kind of magical creature or tale we were seeing which were proven to be entirely accurate as the story progressed. The fidelty of the filmmakers to the source material made the story even more satisfying to me.

In short:
Storytelling - wonderful.
Fidelity to actual myth and lore - admirable.
Cinematography - breathtaking.
Performances - excellent.

Our only complaint?
The complete lack of actual military know-how demonstrated by the army commanded by the villain. The most obvious example of this was the way that the commander's step-daughter and two adult spies were able to come and go from headquarters at all hours of the day or night without anyone noticing a thing! Particularly since they were in a rural setting, surrounded by guerrilas, and aware that they had at least one informer in their midst! No one should have been able to enter or leave the grounds -- much less the house itself -- without it being noted and reported.

It didn't spoil the story, but it was a distraction.

If you haven't seen this movie yet, you need to rent it.

Comments

[9thmoon.livejournal.com]

I bought this movie a couple months ago based on your post, here, and I finally had time to watch it tonight. It was fascinating. I wish it had not been so gory. I had to look away a lot. I know I will watch it again, though.