Wow. I saw "Pan's Labyrinth" and "Babel" in the last few days. Both are brilliant.
If you've seen the trailers for "Pan's Labyrinth" you probably think it's a fantasy movie. Well, you're part right. It's actually as much about the brutality against the rebels at the end of the Spanish Civil War as anything.
Bookish 10-year-old (or so) Ofelia (Ivana Baquero) and her mother Carmen (Ariadna Gil) have been moved from the city into the countryside where Captain Vidal (Sergi López), Carmen's new husband, is stationed at an old mill where his job is to eradicate the remaining rebels in the mountains.
The housekeeper at the mill, Mercedes (Maribel Verdú) becomes Ofelia's caretaker and a nurse to Carmen whose advanced pregnancy is put in peril by the long trip. Mercedes warns Ofelia to stay out of the ancient stone labyrinth next to the mill, saying she would get lost forever. Of course, being a curious, intelligent child Ofelia can't resist when a fairy leads her into the maze. It is there she meets the faun who is so creepy in the trailer, and who tells her she is a fairy princess who needs to perform three difficult tasks before the full moon to be restored to her true family. When Ofelia asks Mercedes if she believes in fairies Mercedes says she did when she was a girl. When Ofelia asks about fauns, Mercedes tells her that her mother said not to trust them.
I've been telling people not to take anyone under 15 to this movie without seeing it first. It is a harsh and brutal movie. Everyone has things to hide, except the Captain. He could be a be a central casting Spanish fascist, but Sergi López gives the character more depth than that. He is disturbingly attractive.
The line between ancient magic and 20th century human evil is very fine in this film, and I was left hoping that one would interfere with the other.
It is hard for me to know where to stop and avoid spoilers talking about this movie, so I've tried to stick to talking to people who've seen it. So I'll just stop now.
"Babel" is a marvelous film. There are very good reasons why Adriana Barraza and Rinko Kikuchi were both nominated for the best supporting actress Oscar.
"Babel" is kind of a strange film to watch. Stories in Morocco, Japan and San Diego are all told separately and you spend part of the movie wondering how they are tied together. An American tourist (Cate Blanchett) is shot in Morocco. A horny deaf teenager (Kikuchi) in Tokyo is interested in one of the police officers who comes to ask her father questions. The undocumented worker housekeeper (Barraza) takes her two charges to a wedding in Mexico while their parents are out of the country and she can't find anyone else to look after them.
As unlikely as it sounds the stories are all tied together.
Once you find the connection, there's a period of "ok, now what" where I even checked my watch. Then, in this amazing ending that I'm hard pressed to explain, everything comes together as it comes apart and the effect is very powerful.
This is another movie that I don't really know how to talk about. I'm afraid I could tell the three stories point for point, tell you about how they tie together and fail to convey any of the power of this film.
The only reason Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett are first listed in the U.S. publicity is they are actors whom the casual movie going public know. This is truly an ensemble piece. The official Japanese web site (which has a very cool intro) looks like it is more about the movie as a whole, while the official Paramount U.S. site seems to be worried about awards and nominations.
One more thing, 8-year-old Elle Fanning is as luminescent in this as she was in "The Nines" at Sundance. In my opinion she is the hot young actress of the moment. A beautiful little girl who looks, dresses and behaves her age. And I'm not saying this just because she reminds me a little bit of both my oldest and youngest nieces.
