A little more than kin, and less than kind

El laberinto del fauno (Pan's labyrinth)

(2006)

No, I wasn't inspired to watch this by seeing Del Toro's protégé's work on Saturday (though it struck me at the end of this film that what I said invisibly at the end of that review holds true for the heroine of this as well), nor did it even occur to me beforehand how well this film fits into my Hamlet fixation. No, I simply took my first opportunity, having just gotten the disc back from someone I'd lent it to (and given my guideline [not statute] of limitations: at least one year between screenings), to watch what I had on first viewing declared the best film of 2006.

And? Well, I confess that I was not quite as enchanted by the fairytale magic of the narrative this time, but I'd still put it up against anything that the Academy actually nominated as Best Picture--certainly better than the winner, The Departed (which is not even as good as the Korean original, Infernal Affairs), and the disappointing Babel. On the other hand, I have to admit now that two of the nominees for Best Foreign Pic that I hadn't yet seen when I first saw Pan are at least its equal: the Oscar-winning Das Leben der Anderen (The lives of others) and the stunning Indigènes (Days of Glory). In other words, maybe "Best Picture" should be renamed "Best Born-in-the-USA Picture."

But what about that Hamlet thing? Well, let's see: protagonist's father has recently been killed, and Mom has married someone who in this case is at least figuratively responsible for the killing, and there's a suggestion that he's directly responsible (and he will later be responsible for Mom's death as well, and will try to off the protag). Protag is guided by a supernatural figure whose trustworthiness is open to question, and is somewhat recalcitrant in carrying out the otherworldly guide's instructions. And, of course, everyone ends up mincemeat. Of course, the protagonist being a girl, she isn't named Hamlet; instead, she's named Ofelia.

You know what they say: to a man with a Hamlet, everything looks like a nail.