I can't help feeling that this was more Captain Vidal's story than Ofelia's. In some ways his is the transformative element. The happy ending is more for a community, a way of life, than for an individual.
I too found the film's marketing tremendously misleading, especially since it was coming out around the time the first Narnia film did. It focused solely on the fairytale aspects of the story, and not the political themes. I'd have adored a dark, grown-up fairytale, something more fierce than Labyrinth or The Lion, Witch and Wardrobe. Instead I'm left with memories of brutality (oh, that razor, and Mercedes' knife).
You'll be happy to know I've never sat through It's a Wonderful Life. I know it's un-American to say that, but here I am, saying it.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2007-11-05 07:01 pm (UTC)I too found the film's marketing tremendously misleading, especially since it was coming out around the time the first Narnia film did. It focused solely on the fairytale aspects of the story, and not the political themes. I'd have adored a dark, grown-up fairytale, something more fierce than Labyrinth or The Lion, Witch and Wardrobe. Instead I'm left with memories of brutality (oh, that razor, and Mercedes' knife).
You'll be happy to know I've never sat through It's a Wonderful Life. I know it's un-American to say that, but here I am, saying it.