PAN’S LABYRINTH
CAROLINE: Here’s a movie I thought there was no way in hell I would see. But you know what, Ryan?
RYAN: What?
CAROLINE: I’m glad I did.
RYAN: You are!!!
CAROLINE: Yeah.
RYAN: Woo hoo!! I, as you well know, have been super-psyched to see this film since we first saw its trailer.
CAROLINE: But I vowed to never ever see it.
RYAN: You were terrified of it.
CAROLINE: It scared me with those creepy satyr guys.
RYAN: And what you see as frightening, I see as like, dark, mysterious and cool.
CAROLINE: Phantasmagorical?
RYAN: Exactly. It’s “Pan’s Labyrinth.”
CAROLINE: A Spanish-language film with subtitles.
RYAN: Yes. But honestly, it’s not as bad reading these as some subtitled films.
CAROLINE: Some of the best action has no dialogue, so you don’t even have to worry about the reading ‘cos you’re so rapt by what’s going on.
RYAN: Precisely.
CAROLINE: And the little girl who plays the lead is phenomenal.
RYAN: She’s brazilliant! She’s adorable and serious and very talented.
CAROLINE: It’s a demanding role and she did it very well.
RYAN: Abso-frickin-lutely! I liked all the performances. The bad guys – you loved to hate them.
CAROLINE: Totally.
RYAN: And happy props to the special effects team because the dark fairy tale aspects were so incredibly brought to life.
CAROLINE: I’m so not into fantasy movies, but luckily, this one is a nice combo of real history (it takes place in after the Spanish Civil War) and some fantasy stuff which is a little creepy. This is not a children’s movie.
RYAN: OMG. it’s so not a children’s movie. I was shocked by that. I thought it was gonna be family film potential for brave children. Alas, no.
CAROLINE: It has a lot of violence.
RYAN: Like violence as bad as any you’ve ever seen.
CAROLINE: I actually had to turn my face away a couple times and I never do that.
RYAN: Never. The violence is sadistic and evil.
CAROLINE: It’s true. You may have to avert your eyes once or twice, Mom.
RYAN: Mmm hmm. And the voice talent was excellent. Even though we don’t speak Spanish, the voice of the faun was excellent.
CAROLINE: The good news for you, if you’re like me, is that it’s not a creepy fantasy movie, as it appears from the trailer. It’s a nice balance of both regular action and fantasy.
RYAN: Right. ‘Cos basically, only the girl can see the fantasy and the rest of the film happens around her.
CAROLINE: And it’s under two hours. Bottom line?
RYAN: Not what I expected. It’s much more adult than I thought it would be. But it’s still a beautifully dark fairy tale and I was completely entertained and, dare I say, enthralled by it. It’s a winner for me.
CAROLINE: Yes. It was much more enjoyable than I expected. I definitely recommend it. It’s for people who like a different kind of movie in a foreign language package.
RYAN: And if you’re gonna see it, you simply must see it on the big screen. A television-sized screen will not do it justice.
CAROLINE: J’agree.