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
The film's original title is "The Labyrinth of the Faun"; the film was retitled "Pan's Labyrinth" (after the goat-human nature god Pan) most notably in America and the UK, other English-speaking countries, German-speaking countries, The Netherlands, Scandinavia, and Croatia.
Guillermo del Toro said that he felt the Faun is just a normal faun and that Pan himself was too dark and sexual for a fairytale starring an eight-year-old girl. See more »
Goofs
Vidal is using a Luger P-08 pistol. When he "fires" it, although smoke can be seen coming out of the barrel, the distinctive cartridge eject mechanism of the P-08 doesn't move, nor do any spent cartridges eject. This is due to a prohibition on pyrotechnics in the forest used for filming and the sound of gunfire and muzzle flash having been added later. 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...
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Crazy Credits
The two "Stick Insects" are credited as Cheech and Chong, after which it says "MAY THEY REST IN PEACE". See more »
This is a movie with a simple and straightforward plot which contains layers and layers of intelligent writing, metaphors and message.
To speak further about the script will end up in spoilers and that would be pointless since my very purpose writing this review is to encourage people to see it.
This is no small feat, interpreting fantasy as something of a product of a real world, cross-referencing how the child acts to her real surroundings and the "other world", metaphors that describe the accelerated state of growing up some of us are put through... Incredible. Simple, straightforward yet there is so much to be appreciated.
Those who are saying how it's predictable and thus not enjoyable, I ask of you, which movie nowadays aren't predictable? Hell, even 21 grams was predictable but so damned good. It's not about how it ends, you can always predict how a movie would end if you've ever taken a half-decent script writing class or have some common sense. It's always about how well you tell a story.
I'm grateful there are still directors who aren't tied down to this new epidemic of including a plot twist simply because they need a plot twist.
Pan's Labyrinth features some of the best storytelling and attention to detail without being affected by the now ever-popular opinion of cameras having to be put through several technical difficulties to make the shots eligible to be called a brilliant shot.
I am also grateful for them not dubbing it. Watching it in its' original language is much, much more rewarding even if I had to rely on the subtitles for most of the time.
This is a brilliant movie. Watch it.
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This is a movie with a simple and straightforward plot which contains layers and layers of intelligent writing, metaphors and message.
To speak further about the script will end up in spoilers and that would be pointless since my very purpose writing this review is to encourage people to see it.
This is no small feat, interpreting fantasy as something of a product of a real world, cross-referencing how the child acts to her real surroundings and the "other world", metaphors that describe the accelerated state of growing up some of us are put through... Incredible. Simple, straightforward yet there is so much to be appreciated.
Those who are saying how it's predictable and thus not enjoyable, I ask of you, which movie nowadays aren't predictable? Hell, even 21 grams was predictable but so damned good. It's not about how it ends, you can always predict how a movie would end if you've ever taken a half-decent script writing class or have some common sense. It's always about how well you tell a story.
I'm grateful there are still directors who aren't tied down to this new epidemic of including a plot twist simply because they need a plot twist.
Pan's Labyrinth features some of the best storytelling and attention to detail without being affected by the now ever-popular opinion of cameras having to be put through several technical difficulties to make the shots eligible to be called a brilliant shot.
I am also grateful for them not dubbing it. Watching it in its' original language is much, much more rewarding even if I had to rely on the subtitles for most of the time.
This is a brilliant movie. Watch it.