I was able to sneak in time this past weekend to see Guillermo del Toro's new film Pan's Labyrinth which I had been dying to see. It's one of those films that came out over a month ago in L.A. and New York and only made it to one theater in D.C. just this past weekend.
The movie is fantastic in both its originality and cinematography. Del Toro weaves a strangely realistic fairy tale set in Spain during the Spanish Civil War. A small girl named Ofelia has to battle both the monsters in her backyard labyrinth as well as the evil stepfather who is a captain in Franco's army.
The film gets a bit cluttered in characterization and does meander a bit, but overall it comes together well. And for those who hate fantasy films, Pan's Labyrinth may have a faun, and a giant toad, and a monter or two lurking about, but it's not meant to be a Lord of the Rings movie. No, it's firmly grounded in a bloody, terrifying, landscape of modern war. If anything, the gore is what was most surprising.
But for me, the real shocker is when the man with no eyes lifts his arms toward Ofelia and we see the strange eyeballs on the palms of his hands. Even though this scene was in the preview, I still think everyone in the theater gasped.
