Pan’s Labyrinth (Del Toro, 2006)
Back in April 2007, I spent more of my brief review of Pan’s Labyrinth explaining who Guillermo Del Toro was than talking about the film.
Which was kind of fair enough at the time as, while he had made some high profile Hollywood comic book adaptations (Blade II, Hellboy), his auteur and Spanish-language films (Cronos, The Devil’s Backbone) were much less well-known. Pan’s Labyrinth was the film where both strands came together.
Like he did in the great The Devil’s Backbone in 2001, Del Toro tells the story of a child caught up in the horrors of Spain’s Civil War, escaping into a world of fantasy that may be more dangerous than the terrifying real world outside. Pan’s Labyrinth is completely brilliant on every level.
That’s basically all I wrote about it!
It was a big week – Mr. Bean’s Holiday, Charlotte Rampling romance Twice Upon a Time, Edward Norton getting acting lessons from Paul Giamatti in The Illusionist* and Anthony Minghella’s last film Breaking and Entering* – so you could see why “completely brilliant on every level” might have to suffice.
*Future recommendations here if they ever find their way to streaming.
Where to watch Pan’s Labyrinth
Aotearoa: Streaming on Māori+ (free), Beamafilm (free with some library cards) or Shudder/AMC+
Australia: Streaming on Beamafilm (free with some library cards) or Shudder/AMC+
Canada: Streaming on Shudder/AMC+ or Starz
Ireland: Digital rental from Apple or Rakuten
USA: Digital rental from Apple, Amazon, Fandango, Microsoft or Spectrum
UK: Streaming on Studiocanal
Further reading
My look at four recent music titles that are available on New Zealand streamers has been posted to RNZ. I watched the stadium concert movie Gaga Chromatica Ball; David Letterman visiting Dublin to meet with half of U2, Bono and The Edge: A Sort of Homecoming; a documentary about racism in country music inspired by Beyoncé’s new album Cowboy Carter, Call Me Country; and the excellent biography of the folk singer Joan Baez: I am a Noise.
I’d also like to point you towards this article by reader CP of Auckland from his Substack, Ephemeral. Ostensibly it’s a review of the Apple TV+ series Dark Matter and – because that’s my turf – I wouldn’t normally go out of my way to mention it but it’s such a lovely piece of writing I can’t help myself.
Besides, at current pace I might not get around to Dark Matter for a few months so you might as well hear about it from Chris!
