Set in '50s Spain, a young man (Sanz) leaves the army and looks for a job so he and his fiancée (Verdu) can get married. He rents a room from a widow (Abril), and shortly begins a torrid ... See full summary »
Rafael witnesses Marina - a woman with a glass eye - being attacked on the street by Daniel; her long-time acquaintance since the orphanage, where they were both raised as kids. He rescues ... See full summary »
Director:
Ricardo Franco
Stars:
Antonio Resines,
Maribel Verdú,
Jordi Mollà
In this latest Spanish-language remake of Gregorio Martinez Sierra's classic sentimental drama, a group of nuns find an abandoned baby girl at the doorstep of their convent.
Interwoven emotions and struggles of three women of different generations aiming to build the lives they desire, their own future, love and dreams. All of them lose the love of their lives ... See full summary »
A couple of ruffians enters a tobacconist in the neighborhood of Vallecas to steal. Having failed in its intention they finish entrench themselves in the place, being surrounded by police.
Director:
Eloy de la Iglesia
Stars:
Emma Penella,
José Luis Gómez,
José Luis Manzano
April, 1940. Manolo, 16 years old, and Jesus, who is just 8, are taken by their older brother Pepe, a lieutenant in the Army, to a sanatorium for children suffering from tuberculosis, ... See full summary »
Ourense, Spain, 1940. Every time that Elena locks the door, she locks her secrets. Her husband Ricardo spend years hidden in his house with his children (Elenita and Lorenzo), trying to ... See full summary »
Jon, a twenty-year-old boy from San Sebastián, gets up at seven in the morning and, from that moment on, we watch how he lives his friendship with Patxi and Maite, love, family ... See full summary »
Director:
Montxo Armendáriz
Stars:
Martxelo Rubio,
Maribel Verdú,
Jon San Sebastián
Residents of an enclosed neighborhood in the middle of Mexico DF are shocked by a violent crime, and for one resident in particular, young Alejandro, the drama is ratcheted up when he encounters the lone kid who escaped the event and is hiding out within the neighborhood's borders.
Director:
Rodrigo Plá
Stars:
Daniel Giménez Cacho,
Daniel Tovar,
Alan Chávez
Margo is struggling to deal with her son, Jon a rebellious and free-spirited teenager who runs with a bad crowd. After Jon is expelled from school, Margo sends him to live with his ... See full summary »
In 1944 falangist Spain, a girl, fascinated with fairy-tales, is sent along with her pregnant mother to live with her new stepfather, a ruthless captain of the Spanish army. During the night, she meets a fairy who takes her to an old faun in the center of the labyrinth. He tells her she's a princess, but must prove her royalty by surviving three gruesome tasks. If she fails, she will never prove herself to be the the true princess and will never see her real father, the king, again.Written by
Tim
Sergi López, who plays Captain Vidal, was considered a melodramatic or comedic actor, and the Madrid-based producers told Guillermo del Toro: "You should be very careful because you don't know about these things because you're Mexican, but this guy is not going to be able to deliver the performance". Del Toro replied "Well, it's not that I don't know, it's that I don't care". See more »
Goofs
When Ofelia enters the lair of the Pale Man, she sets the hour glass down on the wall (where she entered). From when she puts it down to when it is next in shot, quite a lot of sand has fallen, and this is even before she's walked into the banquet chamber. There is no way that the sand would have lasted past when she was eating the grapes, let alone to when it supposedly did run out. See more »
Quotes
[first lines]
Pan:
A long time ago, in the underground realm, where there are no lies or pain, there lived a Princess who dreamed of the human world. She dreamed of blue skies, soft breeze, and sunshine. One day, eluding her keepers, the Princess escaped. Once outside, the brightness blinded her and erased every trace of the past from her memory. She forgot who she was and where she came from. Her body suffered cold, sickness, and pain. Eventually, she died. However, her father, the King, always knew...
See more »
Crazy Credits
The title and the names of the actors and the production staff are not shown until the end of the film. See more »
The Fairy and the Labyrinth/El hada y el laberinto
Written by Javier Navarrete
Produced by Emmanuel Chamboredon Ian P. Hierons
Courtesy of Milan Entertainment See more »
I saw the film at FrightFest in London a couple of days ago, and was pretty well sure I'd be seeing something special - but I ended up seeing a film that is downright extraordinary. Brutal but beautiful, magical yet earthy, it has a remarkable cast, with standout performances all round.
A special mention must go to Sergi Lopez, whose 'Captain Vidal' is indeed one of the most sadistic film creations ever seen. Yet he manages to make the audience understand why he is the way he is ... an astounding performance. Maribel Verdu's quiet but rebellious housekeeper is one of the strongest female roles I've seen in many a year, and she is supported by a wealth of talent. Young Ivana Baquero is surprisingly self-assured as 12-year-old Ofelia, and I especially liked her almost Alice-like approach to the magical creatures she encounters in the labyrinth. The icing on this warped fairy tale is Doug Jones, who gives a towering performance - and in this case literally, as well as figuratively - as the guardian of the labyrinth, a faun, full of grace and charm and latent menace. Although dubbed, his Spanish is perfect (Jones speaks not a word of the language), and his physical presence is incredibly powerful as his character teases, cajoles and harries Ofelia to fulfil her tasks. He also plays the devastatingly creepy and disgusting 'Pale Man' - a creature that almost equals Vidal in his terrorising habits.
But the cast is just one facet of this gloriously photographed film, with Javier Navarrete's hauntingly simple score weaving itself into the fabric of a film perfectly edited and written. The brutality of post-Civil War Spain contrasts with the world of magic to which Ofelia is drawn, yet everywhere she goes she has choices to make. In fact the film is about choices, good and bad, and one discovers that no matter how desperate a situation becomes, a choice is always available - although that choice may mean one's death. The film is violent - very violent, but each moment of brutality, although graphic, has a purpose - nowhere is it gratuitous.
I loved it - as I knew I would - and if the Oscar voters don't give this film at least a nod for Best Foreign Language Film next year, then I will know that they have lost any sense of reason or comprehension. Because this film is truly a masterpiece, and Del Toro's greatest work to date.
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I saw the film at FrightFest in London a couple of days ago, and was pretty well sure I'd be seeing something special - but I ended up seeing a film that is downright extraordinary. Brutal but beautiful, magical yet earthy, it has a remarkable cast, with standout performances all round.
A special mention must go to Sergi Lopez, whose 'Captain Vidal' is indeed one of the most sadistic film creations ever seen. Yet he manages to make the audience understand why he is the way he is ... an astounding performance. Maribel Verdu's quiet but rebellious housekeeper is one of the strongest female roles I've seen in many a year, and she is supported by a wealth of talent. Young Ivana Baquero is surprisingly self-assured as 12-year-old Ofelia, and I especially liked her almost Alice-like approach to the magical creatures she encounters in the labyrinth. The icing on this warped fairy tale is Doug Jones, who gives a towering performance - and in this case literally, as well as figuratively - as the guardian of the labyrinth, a faun, full of grace and charm and latent menace. Although dubbed, his Spanish is perfect (Jones speaks not a word of the language), and his physical presence is incredibly powerful as his character teases, cajoles and harries Ofelia to fulfil her tasks. He also plays the devastatingly creepy and disgusting 'Pale Man' - a creature that almost equals Vidal in his terrorising habits.
But the cast is just one facet of this gloriously photographed film, with Javier Navarrete's hauntingly simple score weaving itself into the fabric of a film perfectly edited and written. The brutality of post-Civil War Spain contrasts with the world of magic to which Ofelia is drawn, yet everywhere she goes she has choices to make. In fact the film is about choices, good and bad, and one discovers that no matter how desperate a situation becomes, a choice is always available - although that choice may mean one's death. The film is violent - very violent, but each moment of brutality, although graphic, has a purpose - nowhere is it gratuitous.
I loved it - as I knew I would - and if the Oscar voters don't give this film at least a nod for Best Foreign Language Film next year, then I will know that they have lost any sense of reason or comprehension. Because this film is truly a masterpiece, and Del Toro's greatest work to date.