Dirty Pretty Things

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 7/7/07 w/ Additional Edits & Revisions.

Directed by Stephen Frears and written by Steven Knight, Dirty Pretty Things tells the story of a Nigerian doctor who drives a cab by day and works at a hotel at night. His best friend is a Turkish immigrant who is trying to evade the immigration services while working odd jobs. When he learns about a secret operation over kidney sales from immigrants in exchange for passports, he is in shock over what is happening and what is at stake. The film is an exploration into the world of black market operations where people sell body parts for money and passports as it is set entirely in London. Starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, Audrey Tautou, Sophie Okonedo, Benedict Wong, and Sergi Lopez. Dirty Pretty Things is a suspenseful yet harrowing film from Stephen Frears.

The film is an exploration into the world of black markets where illegal immigrants are forced to swap kidneys to gain passports so they can work in London. Yet, it revolves on a Nigerian immigrant in Okwe (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a German doorman in Ivan (Zlatko Buric), a hooker named Juliette (Sophie Okonedo), and a Turkish maid named Senay (Audrey Tautou) whom he's roommates with as they work in a hotel run by Juan (Sergi Lopez). Upon finding a human heart in a toilet, Okwe learns that there is something going on in the hotels as Senay is being targeted by immigrant officials for being an illegal immigrant. With Okwe trying to help her, his past as a doctor who worked for the Nigerian government comes back to haunt him as he learns about who is running the black markets operation as it plays into this complicated world where people have to survive and live a better life without trouble from the law or from people who are more concerned than profit than human lives.

All of which explores a world that is very dark as Steven Knight's screenplay relies on the structure of suspense as the momentum is built on what's going to happen. The script is really the film's high point in creating characters who aren't stereotypes and such but real people as there's also an unconventional love story of sorts between Okwe and Senay even though they aren't lovers.  It adds to something that makes the story feel different in terms of what is expected in a genre film like this while it is clear that the characters in the film are quite flawed.  It's often due to the fact that they're driven by the instinct to survive through dire means in a world that doesn't treat immigrants very lightly as Knight's script showcases a part of London that is diverse but also quite chaotic.

Stephen Frears' direction is top notch in creating suspense and intrigue for the story. While it's a bit flawed due to the pacing early in the film, it does pay off with the way it builds momentum as well as the question of morality. Notably, the character of Okwe who is definitely the conscious of sorts in the film which is kind of rare for a protagonist. Even as he is surrounded by a strange group of people including a laid-back hooker, a philosophical doctor, a lively doorman, and Senay. Senay is also interesting since she's a character who has a dream but is often clashing with reality as she realizes how far she has to go. Overall, it's Frears' observant yet stagy direction that creates a very solid drama.

Cinematographer Chris Menges brings a variety of looks to the film from the grayish, desolate look of the film's exterior sequences, notably the immigration, ethnic communities as well as the film interiors. To the more stylish, staged lighting in the film's hotel interior scenes which adds style to the film's unique look. Production designer Hugo Luczyc-Wyhowski and art director Rebecca Holmes create a unique look to the film's locations from the working-class, colorful look in the immigration slums to the polished, posh look of the hotel rooms and hotel lobby. Costume designer Odile Dicks-Mireaux create a nice look to the hotel suits that Juan, Okwe, and Ivan wears as well as the clothes that Juliette wears that isn’t overly revealing or vastly conservative.

Editor Mick Audsley does some excellent work in the film's editing to create suspense and terror that is expected in a genre like a thriller. Yet, Audsley's editing works to convey the manic energy that happens during the third act. Sound editors Mark Auguste and Peter Joly help create suspense with the film's sounds from the cars outside to the noise of the slums with the people surrounding the place. Music composer Nathan Larson creates a chilling score that just doesn't play to the film's suspense but also the drama with collages of guitar melodies and keyboards. The soundtrack mostly consists of Larson's score plus Turkish folk music and a song by David Byrne, formerly of the Talking Heads.

The film's cast is wonderfully assembled, notably for the fact that it's very diverse with people who aren't mostly English actors but rather people from other countries or a certain ethnicity. Smaller roles ranging from Darrell D'Silva as an immigration officer, Kehan Hudaverdi as a cafe` owner, and Barber Ali as the sweatshop owner are memorable in their performances. Benedict Wong is good as Guo Yi, Okwe's hospital friend who often talks forms of philosophy including chess and how the roles of life are often played. Zlatko Buric is brilliant as the comical Ivan who often talks about the good things that are in the hotel world while trying to protect his friends from immigration officers. Sophie Okonedo is good as the hooker Juliette who often flirts with Okwe while letting him know that there's things in the hotel that aren't right as she ends up helping him in his crisis of conscious.

Spanish actor Sergi Lopez is wonderful as Juan aka Sneaky. Lopez doesn't act like a conventional villain but rather a man who believes what he's doing is good, not just for himself but also the people whose lives he claims are saving. It's a wonderfully diabolical role from Lopez who brings charm and wittiness to his character. French actress Audrey Tautou, known for her work with Jean-Pierre Jeunet, is wonderful as Senay. Tautou is amazing in capturing Senay's desires to live a different world while dealing with the realities of what it takes to live a new life. It's a brilliant performance for the French actress who makes her English-language debut in the film as she proves that she can play characters that are dark as opposed to something as light-hearted as in Amelie. Finally, there's Chiwetel Ejiofor in a brilliant performance as the moralistic Okwe. Ejiofor gives a performance that isn't overly dramatic but rather subtle in how he observes everything around him and how tries to do what's right. Though he does wrong in taking stimulants and not being open, it's because his character is trying to evade secrets that won't expose him to authorities as it is Ejiofor at his best.

Dirty Pretty Things is a phenomenal film from Stephen Frears that features great performances from Chiwetel Ejiofor, Audrey Tautou, and Sergi Lopez. The film is definitely one of Frears' finest films in terms of its suspense and exploration into characters in the situations they're in. Especially as it focuses on people who are on the fringes of society as it is told with great respect by screenwriter Steven Knight. In the end, Dirty Pretty Things is a remarkable film from Stephen Frears.

Stephen Frears Films: (Gumshoe) - (Afternoon Off) - (Bloody Kids) - (Walter) - (Walter and June) - (December Flower) - (The Hit (1984 film)) - (My Beautiful Launderette) - (Prick Up Your Ears) - (Mr. Jolly Lives Next Door) - (Sammie and Rose Get Laid) - (The Grifters) - (Hero (1992 film)) - (The Snapper) - (Mary Reilly) - (The Van (1996 film)) - (The Hi-Lo Country) - (High Fidelity) - (Liam) - (Fail-Safe (2000 TV film)) - (The Deal (2003 TV film)) - (Mrs. Henderson Presents) - The Queen (2006 film) - (Cheri) - (Tamara Drewe) - (Lay the Favorite) - (Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Fight) - Philomena

© thevoid99 2014

Ricky (2009 film)

Written and directed by Francois Ozon, Ricky is the story about a couple who gain a baby only to realize that it has angel wings on its back. The film is about two people dealing with their newborn child’s abnormality as it’s told in a dramatic style with bits of humor. Starring Sergi Lopez, Alexandra Lamy, Melusine Mayance, and Arthur Peyret. Ricky is a strange yet heartfelt film from Francois Ozon.

The film is a simple story of two factory workers who meet, fall in love, and have a baby who later grows wings on its back. The film is more about this family dealing with this baby’s abnormality where a mother in Katie (Alexandra Lamy) and her young daughter Lisa (Melusine Mayance) are trying to figure out what is coming out of the baby’s back. While Katie at first accuses her Spanish boyfriend Paco (Sergi Lopez) for the bruises on the baby’s back as he leaves. Once they realize that the baby named Ricky (Arthur Peyret) has wings and can fly, they try to keep it secret until the whole world knows about it as Paco returns to find a way to make money for the family that will also ensure Ricky’s safety. Instead, things beyond their control only make matters much more complicated. Largely as writer/director Francois Ozon is trying to explore the world of family as they all try to come together to deal with something as strange as a baby with wings.

Though the plot is a simple one, its story is largely dramatic where there elements of realism into the way Katie and Lisa deal with Ricky’s growing wings. Eventually, things do get unveiled where it does have an element of comedy and fantasy though it makes it makes some of the narrative a bit uneven. Still, Ozon does play with the conventions of how of Katie and Paco meet and fall in love as well as the conception of Ricky. Though Lisa is understandably wary towards Paco at first, she eventually realizes that he is a good, kind-hearted man but also flawed since he’s also a guy. The direction is quite simple as it’s very low-key and restrained as far as the drama is concerned. While the compositions are direct and to the point, the scenes involving Ricky flying does have this element of fantasy as well as the idea of something that can be described as a miracle. Overall, Ozon creates a very worthwhile though uneven film about a baby with wings and a family coming together.

Cinematographer Jeanne Lapoirie does excellent work with the cinematography from the use of lights in many of the film‘s interiors to some of the low-key lighting schemes for some of its nighttime exterior scenes. Editor Muriel Breton does nice work with the editing as it‘s mostly straightforward except for some rhythmic cuts for the scene of Ricky flying in the supermarket. Production designer Katia Wyszkop does terrific work with the set pieces from the look of Lisa and Ricky’s room to look of the supermarket.

Costume designer Pascaline Chavanne does some good work with the costumes as it‘s mostly casual. Visual effects supervisor Mathilde Tollec does some fine work with the scenes of Ricky flying where it has a realistic look but also can look wobbly at times. Sound editor Olivier Goinard does some terrific work with the sound to capture some of the chaos involving the media‘s search for Ricky. The film’s music by Philippe Rombi is brilliant as it features a somber yet serene score with some orchestral textures and piano pieces as it’s a highlight of the film.

The film’s cast features some notable small roles from Jean-Claude Bolle-Reddat as a journalist who is covering Ricky’s story late in the film, Andre Wilms as a doctor who is concerned about Ricky’s well-being, and Arthur Peyret as the very adorable baby Ricky. Melusine Mayance is excellent as Ricky’s older half-sister Lisa who is concerned for Ricky as well as the impact it’s having over everyone around her. Sergi Lopez is terrific as Paco as a man who is trying to be a good father only to be accused of doing something to Ricky where he eventually returns to try and do the right thing for the family. Finally, there’s Alexandra Lamy in a superb performance as Katie as a woman dealing with her newborn’s son abnormality while wanting to keep it secret as she becomes unsure of what to think about everything she’s dealing with.

Ricky is a good although somewhat silly film from Francois Ozon. While it has moments that are exciting as well as engaging, it’s really one of Ozon’s weakest films as it doesn’t have a lot of the more dramatic elements of his work as well as some of its more archaic humor. In the end, Ricky is a worthwhile and fine film from Francois Ozon.

Francois Ozon Films: See the Sea - Sitcom - Criminal Lovers - Water Drops on Burning Rocks - Under the Sand - 8 Women - Swimming Pool - 5x2 - Time to Leave - Angel (2007 film) - Le Refuge - Potiche - In the House - Jeune & Jolie - (The New Girlfriend) - (Frantz (2016 film)) - (Double Lover) - (By the Grace of God) - Summer of 85 - (Everything Went Fine) - (Peter von Kant) - The Auteurs #33: Francois Ozon

© thevoid99 2013

Potiche

Based on the play by Pierre Barillett and Jean-Pierre Gredy, Potiche is the story about a trophy wife who takes over her husband’s umbrella factory following a worker’s strike as she hopes to improve things for everyone despite her family’s misgivings. Written for the screen and directed by Francois Ozon, the film explores a woman trying to find meaning in her life as she feels underestimated by her own family. Starring Catherine Deneuve, Gerard Depardieu, Fabrice Luchini, Jeremie Renier, Karin Viard, Evelyne Dandry, and Judith Godreche. Potiche is a stylish and light-hearted comedy from Francois Ozon.

In the 1970s where women are striving for equality in their roles, the film is about a trophy wife whose husband is a tyrannical boss of an umbrella factory where a worker‘s strike forces the wife to take over and change things. With the help of an old lover, she becomes a figure of hope for her small community as well as giving voice to the women around her world much to the chagrin of her husband who is striving to regain his role. It’s a film that plays into a world where a woman who enjoys being a caretaker of sorts until she is asked by a local mayor/former lover to handle a strike that could destroy the town. While her family and her husband don’t think she could handle all of that responsibility, she decides to disprove that in order to reveal why she should never be underestimated.

Francois Ozon’s screenplay definitely plays into the role of women in a crucial period in time where they’re demanding to have the same kind of equality in men. While Suzanne Pujol (Catherine Deneuve) seems to enjoy the role of being a trophy housewife, she is unable to deal with lack of her respect her husband Robert (Fabrice Luchini) treats her while her adult children in Joelle (Judith Godreche) and Laurent (Jeremie Renier) dismiss her opinions. When she is asked by the town’s mayor Maurice Babin (Gerard Depardieu) who is also a union leader, she does so as she improves things where Joelle and Laurent help her as does Robert’s secretary Nadge (Karin Viard) who decides to break off her affair with Robert. While there is a bit of a subplot involving Suzanne and Maurice’s old relationship as the latter still carries a torch for her, it does play into Suzanne’s growth as a character. Even in the third act where her husband’s return to the factory would have her do something that would define her more as a powerful woman.

Ozon’s direction definitely plays to a certain style that recalls some of the films of the 1970s where he aims for something that is very light-hearted and humorous. Notably in the comedy as it’s more subtle than slapstick as well as using flashbacks to express the youth that Suzanne has as well as the mystery about whether Laurent is really Robert’s son. There are also moments where Ozon just keep things simple in the compositions as well as some montages that play up the development of Suzanne’s life. There are also moments where Ozon uses TV stock footage to play up the sense of the times as it would upset Robert as he strives to regain some control. While it’s third act is a bit more dramatic in terms of what Robert does to regain his control, it does pick up the mood when Suzanne makes a decision that will show her growth as a woman. Overall, Ozon creates a very fascinating and delightful film about a woman’s desire for respect.

Cinematographer Yorick Le Saux does great work with the film‘s very stylish and colorful cinematography from the lush look of the film‘s daytime exteriors to the lighting in some of the film‘s interiors including the nightclub Suzanne and Maurice attend. Editor Laure Gardette does excellent work with the editing with the use of split-screens and montages along with rhythmic flairs to play up some of the humor and drama. Production designer Katia Wyszkop does amazing work with the set pieces from the look of the umbrella factory’s interiors to the Pujol home and the design of the umbrellas.

Costume designer Pascaline Chavanne does fantastic work with the costumes as it all plays to a particular sense of style of the times including the dresses that Suzanne wears. The sound work of Benoit Gargonne, Jean-Paul Hurier, and Pascal Jasmes is wonderful for the atmosphere that is created in the house and clubs along with some of the scenes at the town. The film’s music by Philippe Rombi is brilliant for its playful yet serene orchestral music that captures the sense of romance as well as some of its humor. The soundtrack consists largely of French disco music including the Bee Gees and a song sung by Catherine Deneuve.

The casting by Sarah Teper and Michael De Nijs is superb for the ensemble that is created as it features appearances from Evelyne Dandry as Suzanne’s sister, French pop singer Elodie Frege as the young Suzanne in the flashback scenes, and Sergi Lopez as a Spanish truck driver Suzanne gets a ride from late in the film. Karin Viard is wonderful as the secretary Nadge as she starts off as Robert’s mistress to a woman who takes control of her role as she becomes an ally of Suzanne. Judith Godreche is terrific as Joelle as a woman who is unsure about her mother taking over the business as she becomes conflicted over her loyalties. Jeremie Renier is excellent as Laurent as the son who also feels unappreciated by his father as he joins his mother where he helps give ideas into helping the business.

Fabrice Luchini is great as the very cruel and conniving Robert Pujol as a man who has little respect for people including his worker and his family as he struggles to regain control through schemes. Gerard Depardieu is marvelous as Maurice Babin as a union leader and local political figure who helps out Suzanne to stop the strikes while dealing with his own feelings towards her. Finally, there’s Catherine Deneuve in a delightful performance as Suzanne Pujol as a woman who feels unappreciated and underestimated by those around her as she is eager to prove herself that she isn’t some trophy housewife. Deneuve also displays some subtle moments of humor to showcase her very lively personality as it’s definitely one of best performances of her remarkable career.

Potiche is an extraordinary and splendid comedy from Francois Ozon led by the brilliant performance of Catherine Deneuve. Along with a wonderfully stylish look and a terrific supporting cast led by Gerard Depardieu. It’s a film that is very playful and witty while creating heartfelt message about the empowerment of women. In the end, Potiche is a marvelous film from Francois Ozon.

Francois Ozon Films: See the Sea - Sitcom -Criminal Lovers -Water Drops on Burning Rocks - Under the Sand - 8 Women - Swimming Pool - 5x2 - Time to Leave - Angel (2007 film) - Ricky - The Refuge - In the House - Jeune & Jolie - (The New Girlfriend) - (Frantz (2016 film)) - (Double Lover) - (By the Grace of God) - Summer of 85 - (Everything Went Fine) - (Peter von Kant) - The Auteurs #33: Francois Ozon

© thevoid99 2013

Pan's Labyrinth

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 1/21/07 w/ Additional Edits.

Written and directed by Guillermo del Toro, El Laberinto del Fauno (Pan's Labyrinth) is the story of a young 12-year old girl who moves to the countryside with her pregnant-mother and new, militant stepfather. Reveling into a world of fantasy and fairy tales, the girl enters a world where she is the long-lost daughter of a mythic figure where she has to take three tasks to regain a kingdom. A change of pace of sorts into the world of fantasy, del Toro heightens his skill in technical visuals and his gift for storytelling for a film that crosses fantasy and art-house. Starring Ivana Baquero, Sergi Lopez, Ariadna Gil, Maribel Verdu, Roger Casamajor, and del Toro regular Doug Jones. El Laberinto del Fauno is an enchanting, visual spectacle from Guillermo del Toro.

It's 1944 Spain just after the Spanish Civil War where a young, 12-year-old girl named Ofelia (Ivana Baquero) is going to the northern countryside with her pregnant mother Carmen (Ariadna Gil) to meet her new stepfather Captain Vidal (Sergi Lopez). On their way, Carmen gets a little sick as Ofelia finds a stone that looked like an eye and when she placed it onto a statue, an insect-like fairy appears. Arriving onto the house, Vidal meets his wife and stepdaughter as he is trying to rid of the last group of rebels in the mountains. Ofelia meets Vidal's maid Mercedes (Maribel Verdu) and Dr. Ferreiro (Alex Angulo) who realizes that Carmen shouldn't have traveled this late in her pregnancy as Vidal insists that he wants his soon-to-be born son with him. While Vidal and his associates Serrano (Cesar Vea) and Garces (Manolo Solo) plan their attack and await supplies, Carmen now rests as she is feeling ill. Ofelia meanwhile, is amazed by the fairy that she enters into an old, abandoned labyrinth that upon walking into it, she meets a 7-foot tall faun (Doug Jones) where he claims that she looks like the old princess of the underworld. In order to fulfill her rightful place to the underworld, she must fill out three tasks.

On the day Vidal is to have a dinner party, Ofelia uses a mysterious book, given by the faun, to do her first task to feed three stones to a toad underneath an big, old tree that is dying. Through the mud, Ofelia succeeds in her task where she retrieves a gold key. Upon her return, Ofelia learns that Mercedes is a spy who is trying to help her brother Pedro (Roger Casamajor), who is leading the rebels. With her mother ill and becoming increasingly ill due to the pregnancy, she is to be sedated by Dr. Ferreiro as the faun helps Ofelia to give her a mandrake root that will help ease the pain of her mother's pregnancy. For her second task, the faun gives her a chalk to create a magical door into a world with limited time where she must retrieve a gold dagger from a pale man (Doug Jones) who is having a feast. With the help of a few more fairies, Ofelia gets the dagger but ignoring the warning of the faun and the fairies, she eats a couple of grapes that awakes the pale man in which she barely escapes.

The ignored warning upsets the faun who decides to no longer help her and tells her that she will be cursed in the real world while her soul will not return to the underworld. With the resistance growing, Vidal captures a soldier where he finds out that there is more than one spy while he also learns about the mandrake in which, Carmen's ignorance towards magic begins to creates tragedy during the birth of her son. After the birth, Vidal begins to make suspicions towards Ofelia and learns that Mercedes is the spy. Yet, after she escapes with Ofelia in tow, she is captured only to escape again as Ofelia is trapped. The faun reappears with a fairy in giving Ofelia one more chance to complete the final task in which is to take her baby brother and take him to the underworld. Yet, the timing becomes crucial as the rebels take charge where Vidal tries to take control and learn what Ofelia is trying to do with his newborn son.

Given to Guillermo del Toro's fascination with fairy tales and fantasy, El Laberinto del Fauno is truly an adult fairy tale of sorts with some parts that is easily accessible for children. While the film has two different stories, one about the resistance in the post-Spanish Civil War and Ofelia's story, it's balanced to contrast the different worlds. Really, this film is about a young girl trying to escape the real world and try to make something better for herself, her mother and brother, and those who want to find something better. Yet, the background of the Spanish Civil War is handled perfectly through del Toro's script as he reveals the resistance against Fascist Spain where the realities of the times were harsh. The politics of those times isn't what del Toro aims for rather than telling this story of a little girl whose love of fairy tales and fantasy come to life as she brings a bit of hope to people who have seem to lost some faith.

While del Toro's writing is wonderfully told with a balance towards the brutality of war and mysticism of fantasy, it's his directing that really gets both films together. The directing is masterful as he manages to get characters to have their own stories where the parallel to Mercedes and Ofelia are similar since they're two females wanting something better. Though there's a cynicism towards things like magic and fantasy, del Toro offers something that is opposite in which audiences can relate to. Not only is del Toro a very gifted director, which was shown in films like Hellboy and Blade 2, but he knows how to tell stories and give characters moments to shine where there's scenes in which Vidal is paying attention to his broken stopwatch which is a reminder about his own father. The characters are fully-developed including the villainous Vidal who is a bit more complex in terms of his attentive to detail and revealing a bit of his own form of mercy. Overall, the directing and the presentation that del Toro brings is amazing and surpasses the film he's done previously.

Helping del Toro out in his visual presentation is longtime cinematographer Guillermo Navarro. Navarro's visual coloring of blue through many of the film's night sequences, interior and exterior, are exquisite including a few sequences in the rain in the day time mixed in with green and red are wonderful. Even some of the daytime exterior settings are wonderfully shot as Navarro's camerawork is some of the best shots ever shown on film. Production designer Eugenio Caballero does amazing work in not just re-creating the country look of Northern Spain circa 1944 but the designs of the stone statue, the labyrinth, and the world of the pale man. Visual effects supervisors Everett Burrell and Edward Irastorza do great work in the film's design of creatures and fairies to give the film a majestic look of fantasy. Makeup artist Jose Quetglas does some spectacular work in having Doug Jones play both the faun and pale man where the make-up for the creatures is great with help from costume designers Lala Huete and Rocio Redondo for the faun suit including the clothes for the other characters.

Editor Bernat Vilaplana does some wonderful job in the editing including the shift from sequences to sequence where a camera shot would move to something black from one location to a different one. Plus, it's done with great rhythm and style as it's not too fast or too slow while giving takes that make the audience aware of what's going on. Sound designer Martin Hernandez and recordist Miguel Angel Polo do great work in bringing the tense atmosphere of the war and fantasy sequences to add a bit of suspense to a few scenes where the sound work is exquisite. Music composer Javier Navarette brings a wonderfully melodic, enchanting score that plays to the film's fantasy moments with such subtlety while bigger arrangements are done during the film's more intense sequences.

The film's cast is brilliant with notable small performances from Cesar Vea and Manolo Solo as Vidal's associates while Roger Casamajor is great as Mercedes' rebel brother Pedro. Ariadna Gil is great as Carmen, the mother who tries to tell her daughter to grow up from her world of fantasy while dealing with her own pregnancy and pain. Alex Angulo is great as the sympathetic, caring Dr. Ferreiro, who doesn't take side on the war other than he believes that loyalty can be misguided in a crucial scene with Sergi Lopez. Doug Jones is brilliant in his dual role as the pale man and the faun who is complex in his strictness while being a sympathetic figure as Jones brings a lot to role, especially being an American actor having to do the film in Spanish, which he doesn't speak prior to this film. Maribel Verdu of Y Tu Mama Tambien fame gives probably one of her best performances as the maternal Mercedes who cares for Ofelia while having to play servant to Vidal and dealing with her own lack of faith. Verdu goes through the biggest development of character as she has to play spy for the resistance while being a woman who has to do right while trying to believe her lost faith in fantasy.

Sergi Lopez is excellent as the malevolent, strict Captain Vidal with his brutal approach to interrogation and violence while having his own strange beliefs of death and destiny. Lopez adds a lot to a character that could've been a caricature but Lopez's charisma and sadism makes Captain Vidal an unforgettable villain. Finally, there's 12-year old Ivana Baquero in what is truly an amazing performance. Baquero brings a joy and innocence to a girl who has a love for fantasy yet can't help but be in awe of this mysterious world in contrast to what's going on in the real world. Baquero adds a lot to the character as she is trying to help her mother while being aware that her new stepfather is someone she can't accept as her father. She is a truly sincere character as Baquero really brings a lot of compassion and weight to this performance.

El Laberinto del Fauno is truly a majestic, imaginative film from Guillermo del Toro and company. With a great cast led by Ivana Baquero, Sergi Lopez, Maribel Verdu, and Doug Jones, this film truly proves of del Toro's talents as a director. While this film does share similar ideas of bleak worlds with other features like Babel and Children of Men, which is both directed by Mexican directors Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu and Alfonso Cuaron respectively. The film del Toro brings is a bit more accessible in the fact that it's a fairy tale of sorts in the way that children and adults can admire. Though, it should be warned that the film does have some graphic violence that might scare children. Yet, this film has made it clear that Guillermo del Toro is becoming a top international director who has helped make Mexico becoming a leading country for cinema. In the end, El Laberinto del Fauno is a must-see for anyone who loves fantasy.

Guillermo del Toro Films: Cronos - Mimic/Mimic (Director's Cut) - The Devil's Backbone - Blade II - Hellboy - Hellboy II: The Golden Army - Pacific Rim - Crimson Peak - The Shape of Water - Nightmare Alley (2021 film) - Pinocchio (2022 film) - The Auteurs #10: Guillermo del Toro

© thevoid99 2012