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Pan’s Labyrinth – 2006 del Toro
- 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
Drake2020-07-03T10:30:39+00:00
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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 shot, from Weir’s film, is a precursor to the shot del Toro uses in Pan’s Labyrinth link here […]
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