Jan on 19/2/2007 at 16:39

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uhm, Guillermo del Toro is actually Mexican, not European (unless I haven't been paying attention lately just who all joined the EU ;) )

I thought the cinematography breathtaking, the colors, the inventiveness of the creatures, the scenery. The fairytale part is easy to imagine as an inner escape of a child who tries to flee the horrors of her surroundings, yet they creep into her fantasy-world.

The characters are wildly overdrawn, as a child might perceive them. I thought the Capitan was too much, too evil at first--too unbelievable and one-sided, and I'm still not sure about that one. It somehow doesn't add up that the mother, or anybody, could fall in love with a person like him.

The language? Maybe the Spanish helped it in that it would seem more mysterious and different. Although I do believe it would have worked in English too, in the right setting.

BEAR on 19/2/2007 at 23:00

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I didn't get that sense about the captain. He struck me as a hard assed, ruthless son of a bitch. Plus, this was during civil war, and even if my knowledge of the Spanish civil war consists of For Whom the Bell Tolls, its probably safe to say it wasn't a happy time, I think he played the part well.

Ofelia's mother wasn't in love with the captain in any sense that I could figure, more she needed security and he offered it, which is a fairly common situation in alot of stories.

The only sense I got of 'too evil' was when he [SPOILER]bashed that poor guys head in with a bottle. That was somewhat unnecessary to me, I think that was hastily crammed in there to add extra violence and shock to the character, lest you not realize he was capable of anything.[/SPOILER] Other than that, I think he was believable enough. As for [SPOILER]him shooting Ofelia in the end, that made enough sense to me as he had just watched his entire force destroyed, been cut through the mouth and stabbed in the back (literally and figuratively), and had his son stolen (when a son was a big fucking deal to him). [/SPOILER]

Mr.Duck on 21/2/2007 at 00:02

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Guillermo 'Memo' del Toro is, in fact, Mexican (from the city of Guadalajara in the state of Jalisco, aka The Tequila State) :) Just as Gonzalez Iñarritu (Babel) and Alfonso Cuaron (Children of Men) are too :). Try to check out some of these boys' earlier works in Mexico if you can.

Jan on 21/2/2007 at 16:35

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Hey Ducky--
I know; my post was directed at someone else, who since deleted his remark (nevermind though) ;)

I've seen, "Y tu mamá también" and "Children of Men" by Alfonso Cuaron, both great films. There are a lot of exciting movies by Mexican directors at the moment! Y tu mamá también made me want to go to Mexico--not the plot, but the scenery. And I did, a few years ago, and then again this Christmas, Mundo Maya, and all that, absolutely amazing!

The Alchemist on 21/2/2007 at 22:28

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I speak Spanish fluently; the fact did not detract from that "feeling". And I know exactly what you mean, I mostly watch foreign and independent films. I'm not sure what attention this movie is getting, but I liked it. It's a simple story, but the execution is nice and the imagery was very well done: creative, vivid, and expressive. Any praise it's receiving is not undeserved.