El Laberinto Del Fauno Review (Fantastic Drama, 2006)

The movie "El Laberinto del Fauno" is a Fantastic Drama production.

Director: Guillermo del Toro

Actors: Ariadna Gil, Sergi Lopez, Maribel Veridou, Ivan Bacuero, Alex Angulo, Doug Jones

El Laberinto del Fauno has been produced with the budget of Budget: $ 19 million, Worldwide fees: $ 65 million

- What is your name ? - Ophelia.

- Ophelia? - Yes, I know, the woman of Hamlet.

The film "Swap" The farther into the forest, the thicker the partisans.

Spain, 1944. The little one Ophelia (Ivana Bakuero) died his father-porter. Ophelia's mother, whose name is Carmen (Ariadne) Gil), believing that the girl needed a father, came together with the Frankish Captain Vidal (Serhi Lopez). Vidal is a real fascist, ruthless sadist-soldafon, but Carmen thinks it's better to be a fascist husband, than no husband, and for the sake of confirmation this bright thought is even going to give birth to Vidal's child.

Vidal, who is struggling with Some incomprehensible from where the guerrillas in one of the rural regions of Spain, transports Carmen with Ophelia to his estate. Ophelia is not takes out a stepfather who pays her exactly same coin, and trying to get away from really in your favorite books with fairy tales. However, pretty soon the tale comes to her by herself: next to Vidal's estate is home to an ancient stone labyrinth, and Ophelia, somehow accidentally going there, found Faun (Doug Jones) is a mythical creature living on this Earth is hundreds of years old. Fawn said Ophelia, which she says is incarnation of the princess of the underworld and what if the girl is up to the full moon will perform three tasks, then kind the underground king -- who, of course, not at all so nasty as this nasty Vidal will take her into his kingdom and Ophelia will live there. good to make.

And now everyone on the estate The captain is doing his job. The captain struggles with terrible force guerrillas and sits in full. Carmen preparing to give birth to the captain of the heir and Die. Friends of the Guerrillas - Girlfriend commander of the guerrilla group Mercedes (Maribel Veridu) and The Doctor Ferreiro (Alex Angulo) - working in estate supposedly on Vidal, and on the very various diversions are being carried out. In turn, the guerrillas in the forest preparing to defeat Vidal's squad and diligently substitute d'Mercedes with Ferreiro. And Ophelia, of course, performs Faun's tasks to become in eventually the princess underground World. Jobs for the most part rather vile and unpleasant, but the world around the girl and so-and-so is no different beauty, and besides, Ophelia is far from always does it the way it requires Fawn, and it makes a nice job. Variety.

***

It's probably hard to remember. a film that would have caused more polar reactions among viewers and critics. "Best Film of 2006" - said One. Del Toro took off something amazing," others said. "Watch this nightmare is impossible, arises feeling as if you were touching some terrible complexes" - wrote the third.

And this is not surprising. "The Labyrinth Fauna" - the film is extremely ambiguous, highly controversial and in many ways Provocative. First of all, it's not a big deal. it is very clear for whom it is filmed. Despite the fabulous component - Fawn, the underworld, the elves and other fairy-tale characters, -- children and even teenagers this movie can not give a look under any guise -- there too much blood and some kind of slightly perverted naturalism, on that are hard to watch even those viewers who have little loss for the psyche "Crossroads" with Britney Spears. If it's filmed as a fairy tale exclusively for adults, then it is not clear why resort to such enough infantile metaphors. Passion underworld as a reflection real world passions? The Girl in dungeon performs unappetizing job to become an underground princess and escape from the negiven stepfather, and the guerrillas from above are fighting with Francoist emanating to liberate your home country? What's going on?

Besides, if it's half-tale for adults and it's about real Spain, real guerrillas, which was almost non-there, and Francoists who held on to power until 1974, then explain, dear director del Toro, why do you have guerrillas such cardboard-lubok and Is the captain so cardboard-lubok? So what's going on? at the same time -- what kind of partisans are so destitute in 1944? In Spain, which does not participated in World War II and that wasn't occupied!

Why cardboard and lubok? Not I know it's taken. Partisans in white shirts the whole movie hang out in the woods and only know that on purpose, neatly and with knowledge of the matter to set up Mercedes and Ferreiro. That vial with precious antibiotic accidentally forgotten by the fire, so that Vidal can figure out instantly Doctors, the castle at the barn will open stale almost the price of a Mercedes life key to Vidal again right there calculated the snake on his chest. And explain who's stopping this strange guerrillas to snapping up the whole squad Seen like peanuts when they repeatedly go out into the woods on guerrillas, and into the woods, which for guerrillas - home native? And why guerrillas waited until the very end of the film, to attack exactly the manor and there in much more challenging environments, again to snap the scoundrel Vidal's squad?

And Vidal is just like that. cardboard villain. To the limit hypertrophied image, which del Toro struggles imagine a nightmare monster, and it's because of these efforts that he looks like a character of some kind bad performance. Sergi Lopez, though, plays Vidal very well and partly this role saves, but still - the theme fascist officer uncovered, on my look, rather for children, and the movie completely childish.

Ophelia performed by Ivana I didn't like Bakuero at all. Frozen baby without any emotions, except suddenly emerging -- by director's team - screaming-screams. Her that fawn, that elf, that scoundrel captain, that chilling creation with eyes on the palms - all one. Looks at them with a dim glance and pronounces memorized lines.

With cause and effect connections in the fairytale component - too It's not like that. Faun gives tasks - the girl then performs them right, and then everything's fine, then disrupts all installations Absolutely the wrong discovered, food treated, though forbidden), but so not less still it all works out. I don't touch the last task. the job was to cause failure as the most correct Action. But the second task is a slag. Full! I'm sorry I'm so. nitpicking about the baby's fairy tale, but she After all, not a damn child really!

With naturalism in the picture del Toro, in my opinion, strongly I've been overdoing it. Although it's all taken down, of course, Impressive. Fawn (he, by the way, plays Doug Jones - the actor who portrayed Ichthyandra in a Hollywood picture of the same del Thoreau "Hellboy: Hero from the Bake Off"), Creepy Naked Guy with Eyes in The little girl, the nightmarish Toad that you need shove the diamonds down her throat so she spewed her entire stomach with a little key--yes, looks very Great. But at the same time it gives birth quite a natural feeling squeamishness: here's an honest word, somehow doesn't look good a slow-moving girl floundering in dirt and stomach-covered vile toads, - well, that's my word!

At the same time as these creepy creations, del Toro constantly pedals all sorts of above-ground horrors: Vidal's nightmarish sadistic antics, resawing Ferreiro's leg to the injured guerrilla, sewn by Vidal with a thread with the needle of his knife-cut mouth - I always had the impression that del Toro does have some kind of mental health problems. Well not seen here directorial tasks for which it was worth pedaling all these abominations. You look at it all and you think, well, Feature?!!

In general, as a result, this film did not like categorically. But I don't think of him at all. I'll quite admit that it's powerful and very professional staged work, but I'm quite not close to the manner in which it's all made, and the film itself, in my opinion, is a strange mixture infantilism, inappropriate naturalism, cool make-up and excellent scenery coupled with a very workshop staging. It is because of this it gives birth to so polar Opinions.

Separately, I would like to stress that many viewers and critics of this film loved it and they took it as there are, without any pretensions, but perhaps no less than a number of spectators and critics he had caused about the same claim, just like me. So watch it or not - decide for yourself. The event in the world of cinema - yes, Undoubtedly. Should I watch it - well It's extremely difficult here in advance. predict your reaction. To be honest, I only saw it because was going to write a review.

***

Año 1944, posguerra española. Ofelia (Ivana Baquero) y su madre, Carmen (Ariadna Gil), que se encuentra en avanzado estado de gestación, se trasladan a un pequeño pueblo al que ha sido destinado el nuevo marido de Carmen, Vidal (Sergi López), un cruel capitán del ejército franquista por el que la niña no siente ningún afecto. La misión de Vidal es acabar con los últimos miembros de la resistencia republicana que permanecen escondidos en los montes de la zona.