Re: Pan's Labyrinth

Posted by vishesfish on 2007/3/26 22:53:36

I couldn't agree more. It was a beautiful movie with gorgeous imagery, interesting characters, and an engrossing story. It's too bad that movies like this get overlooked by the general public in favor of movies like "The Hills Have Eyes 2" and "Roadhogs".

Interestingly, I saw this film the day after seeing "Bridge to Terabithia" and it was interesting to see the two movies in juxtaposition. Both dealt with fantasy worlds created/imagined by children who were dealing with difficult realities, but the movies couldn't have been more different.

"Terabithia" was bright and overly simplistic, with cartoonish characters and cardboard cutout relationships. It took complex and difficult topics (alienation, death, etc.) and boiled them down to safe, "after-school special" resolutions that left little to the imagination, although it did so in a pleasant and touching manner. Not surprisingly, it was made by Disney.

"Labyrinth" presented a dark world populated with brutal characters and disturbing images, full of shadows and constantly shifting shades of grey. Yet, at the same time, it was full of lush, vivid colors and images of great beauty, like a fairytale brought to life. And, in the end, it's inconclusive resolution left you with a sense of wonder and hope. It is a movie meant to be seen on the big screen.

Don't get me wrong. I enjoyed "Terabithia" very much and felt that it was a good family movie, but it couldn't hold a candle to "Labyrinth". If you get a chance, definitely see it in a theatre.