Susan Hated Literature

El Laberinto del Fauno
Dir & Writ: Guillermo del Toro

• Ivana Baquero - Ofelia
• Sergi López - Capitán Vidal
• Maribel Verdú - Mercedes
• Ariadna Gil - Carmen
• Doug Jones - Fauno

I really wanted to go see this film ever since I heard about it, and yer wan at the desk who tried to put me off by saying “you know it is in Spanish with subtitles” didn’t succeed. The story revolves around Ofelia, an 11 year old girl whose mother has married Captain Vidal and is expecting his child. It is 1944, and Vidal is an officer in Franco’s army, hunting down guerillas in the mountains. Vidal is about as far from a nice chap as you can get, and throughout the film his actions are among the most violent and gruesome on screen. He has no humanity, only caring about ridding the world of the guerillas and cleansing Spain so his son can grow up in a new world. Franco has won the war and he intends to show those still fighting what that means, even if he has to kill every last one of them and their sympathisers.

But on the journey to the Captain’s stronghold Ofelia stumbles across a carved stone statue, and crawling out of it, some sort of an insect. She, however, doesn’t see an insect, instead she calls it a fairy, and later when she shows this insect a picture in one of her books the creature transforms in front of her to take on the more usual appearance of a small person with wings.

Ofelia follows this fairy into the nearby ruin of a labyrinth where she meets with Pan, although he never calls himself by that name, merely stating that he is a faun. He tells her that she isn’t really human, but instead is a Princess in an otherworldly kingdom, where her father is waiting for her return. However, in order to prove that she hasn’t become too mortal she must perform 3 tasks and prove herself worthy to return.

Visually this film is just lovely too watch, but there are also plenty of scenes that’ll make you want to look away. It may be a fantasy film but it is for adults, not children. There is plenty of evidence of the darker side of life; death and torture are everywhere. And the plot is just as good as the images on screen. The characters are believable, even the Captain who is irredeemable and totally evil.

The actor playing Ofelia is a real find, totally believable in her role and never even verging towards “annoying kid in film”.

If you get the chance you really should catch this film. It is dark and sinister, full of cruelty and yet strangely whimsical and charming. The music is also great. You can listen to quite a bit of it on the official site.

IMDb | Official Site | From Hong Kong to London | Rotten Tomatoes | A Welsh View | ANdy’s land of adventure | Confessions of a film critic | Metafilter | Stainless Steel Droppings

Tags: 10 Stars, 1944, Ariadna Gil, beautiful, bloody, Doug Jones, El Laberinto del Fauno, faerie, fascism, Guillermo del Toro, historical fiction, Ivana Baquero, Maribel Verdú, myth, mythological creature, Pan's Labyrinth, Sergi López, sff, Spain - civil war, Spanish, subtitled, torture, violence, visually stunning, whimsical

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Author: Isabelle Allende
ISBN: 0060535032
DDC: 863.64
Trans from the Spanish: Margaret Sayers Peden

Alexander Cold awakened at dawn, startled by a nightmare. He had been dreaming that an enormous black bird had crashed against the window with a clatter of shattered glass, flown into the house, and carried off his mother.

The main reason I picked this one up was that I’d heard quite a few good things about Allende’s version of Zorro and so I figured that I’d give her a go. This is a one of her YA books though, so maybe not a perfect choice to gain an impression of her adult writing.

The story revolves around 15 year old Alexander Cold, who is shipped off to live with his grandmother after his mother becomes ill with cancer. And his grandmother isn’t you usual white-haired little old lady. Instead she is an explorer, and drags Alex off to the Amazon jungle. She is in search of the humanoid, yeti-like Beast that has been reported in the area, either to show this new creature to the world, or announce that it doesn’t exist.

Continue Reading »

Tags: 7 Stars, 863.64, City of the Beasts, Isabelle Allende, magic realism, Margaret Sayers Peden, myth, sff, South America, Spanish, translated

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Dit: Miguel Courtois
Writ: Antonio Onetti

• Eduardo Noriega …. Txema
• José Coronado - Ricardo
• Mélanie Doutey - Amaia
• Silvia Abascal - Begoña
• Santiago Ramos - Pantxo
• Patrick Bruel - Nelson

In the 1970’s, as Franco’s dictatorship of Spain was slowly coming to an end, Txema finds himself getting involved with some Basque terrorists. In the middle of the night some ETA members show up at his door, and, friends with one, he allows them stay the night. As he chats with them he discovers that they are out to kill an informer. A man that Txema knows, a local taxi driver. Feeling guilty, Txema leaves a warning note on the Taxi, but it comes to late, and in the aftermath of the murder Txema is arrested.

And the Spanish secret service want to use him as an undercover agent. At first he refuses, but financial pressure, and the collapse of his business mean that he turns back to the police. It is suggested, but never said that it was police intervention that lead to his financial problems.

The rest of the film details Txema’s life with ETA as a mole, with the code name Lobo.

When I headed into the cinema, I had no idea what I wanted to watch, and this was on at just the right time, so despite not knowing anything about it, I decided to go see it. And I’m glad did. I know very little about Spain’s recent history, so it was interesting to see this film. The film opens with Txema running through the streets, carrying a gun, clearly fleeing the police. We have no idea who he is, or what is going on. but through flashbacks Txema’s backstory is revealed.

The acting is all great, you get a clear picture of Txema as uncertain and unsure through much of the film. He is doing what he thinks is right, but he doesn’t know if it is. And as he gets closer and closer to the leadership of ETA he can clearly sympathise with their positions, if not their methods. But although politics are clearly the driving force behind this film, they aren’t really investigated. Maybe I should say they are never overtly investigated, but the actions of both sides are shown. Both the terrorists and the police seem equally as violent as each other. This of course makes Noriega allt he more sympathetic, he is caught between both worlds.

Overall I enjoyed this film, it is well paced and keeps you entertained, and although over 2 hours doesn’t feel that long.

IMDb | Empire

Tags: 1970s, 9 Stars, Antonio Onetti, Eduardo Noriega, El Lobo, fascism, José Coronado, Mélanie Doutey, Miguel Courtois, Patrick Bruel, Santiago Ramos, Silvia Abascal, Spain - ETA, Spain - fascism, Spanish, subtitled, terrorism

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