It is eerily similar to The Shape of Water– the mark of an auteur- tragically sad, a meditation on escapism
The performances are great—Maribel Verdu from Y Tu Mama Tambien– Sergi Lopez as Vidal “You may think I’m a monster”— He’s Michael Shannon in Shape– — and to me the top prize goes to Ivana Baquero as the young Ofella- so genuine
Ebert called it “one of the all-time great fantasy films” while rallying for and praising the Mexican new wave auteurs like del Toro, Cuaron and Inarritu
Jaded adults and realism (with some unspeakable evils)—del toro does lessen the blow of the finale with the escapism finish—it’s just like shape of water finale
a baroque melding of worlds- black-heavy mise-en-scene- lots of greens on Ofelia as well but it isn’t quite as painterly (especially the non-labyrinth scenes) as Shape of Water. I think the narrative is stronger though
fable and fairy table—Alice is clearly an influence, surrealism of David Lynch, Night of the Hunter with the point of view of the children to a wildly sadistic killer—I see Fanny and Alexander with the evil step father and there’s Cinderella of course there as well.
mise en scene brilliance throughout but particularly in the cave of the Pale Man- immaculate
it’s dark- both in visual shading and mood—clearly defined good and evil
begins with flashback reverse photography then prologue opening of fable
fascism—political just like shape of water– Escapism- She reads books, reads them to her little brother in the womb (who she sacrifices for)
the labyrinth is gorgeous and the singularly most brilliant image is Ophelia entering that tree
MS/MP border- I’m stepping it down from full MP- it’s wonderful but it’s not unapproachable by Shape of Water or other 2006 films like the Fountain
This movie was so good it got a 22 minute standing ovation at Cannes……. 22 MINUTES!!
I just saw it for the 1st time today and it gets into my top 50. While watching it I kept telling myself, “don’t overrate it, don’t overrate it”. But in my opinion I believe out of all the movies I have seen, this is in my top 50. I have a general rule not to rewatch a movie for a long time, But i am willing to make an exception and watch it again tomorrow anyways. It is something truly, truly special.
This movie was so good it got a 22 minute standing ovation at Cannes……. 22 MINUTES!!
I just saw it for the 1st time today and it gets into my top 50. While watching it I kept telling myself, “don’t overrate it, don’t overrate it”. But in my opinion I believe out of all the movies I have seen, this is in my top 50. I have a general rule not to rewatch a movie for a long time, But i am willing to make an exception and watch it again tomorrow anyways. It is something truly, truly special.
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