Ho-kay...That Was a Downer

[jmward14]

 Pan's Labyrinth just reminded me of all the reasons I loathe Hans Christian Anderson.  
Real fairy tales exist to show the rewards of grit and resourcefulness, and the consequences of wickedness.  All sacrifice has a purpose, and virtue is rewarded in this life, because face it, we have no guarantee of any other.
Sure it's fantasy.  But it's empowering fantasy.  All so-called "fairy tales for grown-ups" do is remind you this life is screwed, and anything you try to do to make it better will only make it worse.  Which, thankfully, is not always the case.
I so didn't need to see this exquisitely realized gloom fest before bedtime.  Its internal inconsistencies are pissing me off too.  I know bleeding chunks (emphasis on the bleeding) were left on the cutting room.  Otherwise some of the characters' actions make no sense.  I can even guess the contents of the deleted scenes.  (Steam.Steam.Steam.)
Nope, I'm not mad at writer/director Guillermo del Toro.  He's entitled to his vision, and give the man his props, he realized it exceedingly well.  But I think all the critics who gushed over the damn thing without letting audiences know what kind of experience they were in for should be handed over to Captain Vidal and his trusty hammer for a good, old-fashioned question and answer session.
Snarls and kisses,
Jean Marie
(Off to find something meaningful to look at...like the original King Kong.)

Comments

[quietselkie.livejournal.com]

As imagery I found it utterly stunning. Several things have lingered in my brain.

But oh, the poor mother and daughter in this story. Neither of them are rewarded on the earthly plane. It's like "The Little Match Girl" -- she has to die to get her reward, and that always appalled me. Morality tales aside, I would have opted for a slightly different ending.

I also couldn't help wondering if there's a cultural bias I'm missing that would make the story more satisfying for me if I had that frame of reference.

[sandyinstep.livejournal.com]

OK, haven't seen the movie, but wanted to comment on your statements about fairytales.

Fact is, the fairytales of our youth are very Disney-ized fairytales, sanitized by adults too concerned with not exposing our youth to the harsh realities of the world. When you read the older versions of the tales collected by the "Brothers Grimm" and others, you find much more stark, much less light stories where children are abandoned, eaten, and otherwise come to harsh ends, even without that glimmer of "things will be better on the otherside."

I guess a good deal of the cleaning-up occured as part of the Xianization of the stories, many of which are much older than Xianity. Can't have good little Xian children being killed by evil/devilish witches, even if the little tots deserved their fates.

And don't get me STARTED on the sexism of the sanitized tales of Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and Snow White!!!!

[annecain.livejournal.com]

I actually liked Pan's Labyrinth when I saw, but I can admit I'll probably never watch it again because it's just too much of an emotional coaster ride to go through. :P

But *do* check out The Devil's Backbone. By far, a more satisfying story--even with the heart-wrenching moments it does have. It has a fantastic ending too; there's one part especially that gave me goosebumps.