DVD(s) Of The Week: Pan's Labyrinth (2006) / The Prestige (2006)

Pan's Labyrinth was not what I was expecting at all. I had the impression that it was basically a dark fairy story, set against the background of Franco's Spain at the end of the Second World War. It's actually, first and foremost, a quite shocking - yet personal - war story, with the fantastical elements being almsot incidental.

While it shares some tropes with the slightly lighter Labyrinth and the twisted Alice In Wonderland, Pan's Labyrinth also has hints of The Shining and the darker horror that director Guillermo del Toro is often associated with.

Young Ofelia is sent to the country with her heavily pregnant mother to stay with her evil, sadistic step-father - an army captain. While he is off fighting the rebels in the hills, as they close in ever nearer to his estate, Ofelia stumbles into an old "labyrinth" in the woods, where she meets a magical and sinister faun (Pan). He tells Ofelia that she is the reincarnation of a magical princess and must complete three tasks before the next full moon to find her way back to the supernatural underworld where she really belongs.

Until the very end, we never know whether Pan can be completely trusted or even if he actually exists. While a significiant proportion of the film is viewed from Ofelia's perspective, much is also seen from the point of view of the wicked captain, Ofelia's mother and the rebels, so our perspective changes constantly from the fantastic to the starkly real. This may be a modern fairy story, but it's not meant for children: at least one scene (the captain sowing his face back up after it gets slashed by a rebel) is as hard to watch as the nail-pulling torture in Syriana.

The other great film out on DVD this week is The Prestige (in my humble opinion, the best film of 2006) , which I reviewed when it came out at the cinema. Here's what I wrote:

It's a rare film that Rachel and I will see and both like, let alone come out of the cinema raving about; but The Prestige is such a beast. A unique example of imaginative storytelling that doesn't rely on massive special effects (although there are some) and elaborate fight scenes (the ingredients, in my book, for a great movie), yet can still bemuse the mind and hold the attention until the 'great reveal' when everything you
thought you knew only turns out to be a half-truth at best.

A tale of feuding stage magicians - Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman - in turn-of-the-Century London, each trying to top the other's tricks as Jackman simultaneously seeks revenge on Bale for the death of his wife in an early escapology act.

Directed by Christopher Nolan, he of Memento and Batman Begins fame, you know you're in for a treat before you even take your seat, but this film has more twists and surprises than an episode of The Paul Daniels Magic Show.

Like any good trick, the audience should pay attention to every scene - but mustn't feel disappointed or cheated if they are caught up in the misdirection as that is all part of the routine. Christopher Nolan and his amazing cast, which also includes Scarlett Johansson, Michael Caine, Andy Serkis and David Bowie as maverick inventor Nikolas Tesla, has given us a masterpiece which, in years to come, will be studied in film schools and held up as the standard for aspiring writers and directors to be measured against.

If this doesn't win awards then there's more wrong with the world than is obvious!