Dean Winchester
10-15-2007, 12:28 AM
I notice this movie has been on HBO a lot the past few weeks. Has anyone else seen this movie?
I will admit I generally don't give foreign cinema a chance, but I went to see this based on the word of mouth when it played the theaters some months back and within 5 minutes, I forgot and didn't even care that I was watching a movie in Spanish. The story was so well-crafted and the acting was phenomenal (funny thing is, the movie's "big bad", the General, is apparently known as a Ben Stiller type in Spanish cinema, funny that English-speakers will always associate him as a ruthless, coldblooded bad guy thanks to taking on this role). I think it melded reality and fantasy in a beautiful way and you are on edge and want to see what happens the whole time. By the end you'll be both happy-sad and sad-sad for the same reason (spoiler-free), but you'll be glad you saw it. It holds up to repeat viewings because there are lots of hints the entire movie that make more sense on a second viewing.
I do find it funny however that there were parents who complained about the violence and how scary the faun looked. First of all, the movie is Rated R, second of all, do you really think a five year old has the patience to watch a Spanish language movie if they can't read the subtitles?
I will admit I generally don't give foreign cinema a chance, but I went to see this based on the word of mouth when it played the theaters some months back and within 5 minutes, I forgot and didn't even care that I was watching a movie in Spanish. The story was so well-crafted and the acting was phenomenal (funny thing is, the movie's "big bad", the General, is apparently known as a Ben Stiller type in Spanish cinema, funny that English-speakers will always associate him as a ruthless, coldblooded bad guy thanks to taking on this role). I think it melded reality and fantasy in a beautiful way and you are on edge and want to see what happens the whole time. By the end you'll be both happy-sad and sad-sad for the same reason (spoiler-free), but you'll be glad you saw it. It holds up to repeat viewings because there are lots of hints the entire movie that make more sense on a second viewing.
I do find it funny however that there were parents who complained about the violence and how scary the faun looked. First of all, the movie is Rated R, second of all, do you really think a five year old has the patience to watch a Spanish language movie if they can't read the subtitles?