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Ofelia (Ivana Baquero) is a young girl in a remote mountain village in Spain in 1944 after Franco's ascension to power. To escape the upheaval and hardship her family faces (her father died in the war and her mother has been forced to re-marry to a despotic captain in Franco's fascist army), Ofelia creates a world in her mind, where she's guided by a ghastly yet kindly fawn creature.
The captain, it soon transpires, is more interested in the son Ofelia's mother is carrying than he is in either Ofelia or her mother. Mercedes (Maribel Verdú), the captain's considerate servant, and Dr. Ferreiro, the captain’s physician, are, it transpires, in league with the revolutionaries in the woods surrounding the army encampment. These resistance fighters are intent on liberating the rationed food and medicines they need.
As the increasingly manic and paranoid captain assassinates anyone who looks at him the wrong way with alarming regularity, Ofelia's secret quests set by the fawn creature to unlock the portal to another world become more and more urgent.
With its deft mixing of CGI and actual character scenes, political and social statement, Pan's Labyrinth has been referred to already as “The Citizen Kane of fantasy films.”
Film: Pan's Labyrinth - Special Edition
Release date: 28th February 2011
Certificate: 15
Running time: 119 mins
Director: Guillermo del Toro
Starring: Ivana Baquero, Sergi López, Maribel Verdú, Doug Jones, Ariadna Gil
Genre: Drama/Fantasy/Mystery
Studio: Optimum
Format: Blu-ray
Country: Spain/USA/Mexico
Film: Y Tu Mama Tambien
Release date: 22nd October 2007
Certificate: 18
Running time: 101 mins
Director: Alfonso Cuarón
Starring: Gael Garcia Bernal, Diego Luna, Maribel Verdú, Marta Aura, Diana Bracho
Genre: Comedy/Drama
Studio: Icon
Format: DVD
Country: Mexico
Director Alfonso Cuarón made a welcome return to the cinema of his native tongue with his first Mexican film in a decade. Having tried his hand at big budget American productions, Cuarón went back to his roots with Y Tu Mama Tambien, a lucrative decision with the film grossing seven times its original budget worldwide.
Opening with a very personal goodbye, the audience is offered a voyeuristic view of Julio (Gael García Bernal) and Tenoch (Diego Luna) going at it with their girlfriends more aggressively than a Duracell bunny on speed before taking the girls to the airport, promising to be faithful whilst they are in Italy.
Realising how much they depend on their girlfriends to keep them entertained, their boredom is temporarily remedied by games of who can make themselves come the fastest. Little do they know that a boring family wedding will provide them with a chance meeting which will keep them amused for the rest of the summer.
Cheekily flirting with a beautiful older lady, Luisa (Maribel Verdú), the boys think they are on to a good think until they discover that the mystery Spanish lady is in fact the wife of Tenoch’s cousin Jano. At this point, the double act seem even more determined to impress Luisa, and begin creating an imaginary beach, la Boca del Cielo (Heaven’s Mouth), in an attempt to seduce her into taking a road trip with them. An apprehensive Luisa politely declines until she receives a drunken phone call from Jano while he is away on business, tearfully admitting to having cheated on her.
The three of them set off through rural Mexico, Luisa blissfully unaware that these boys have no idea where they are going. As if Tenoch and Julio need anything more than the presence of Luisa to keep their spirits high as they aimlessly drive around, the boys boast about their sexual experiences and conquests, pausing to high five each other. Bemused by their comparatively modest exploits, Luisa begins her subtle seduction telling them about her relationship with Jano and her first love. The reality of bedding Luisa is more sexual humiliation than fantasy, shattering the grand delusions they hold about their sexual abilities, and ultimately turning them against each other.
They continue their road trip in absolute silence only talking to throw an underhanded remark at the other until they stumble upon a beach - both surprised, they can’t believe their luck. When they meet a group of locals, they discover that Heaven’s Mouth really does exist, and Luisa remains none the wiser about the lies they told to get her there. When it’s time to leave the beach behind, Luisa announces that she wants to stay, leaving the boys to travel back alone with a now awkward and frosty friendship…
Interestingly, the film is set two years in the past, in 1999, showcasing the realities of living in Mexico both economically and politically. Most notably this era is recognised as being the time when Mexico’s longest political reign was brought to an end when the Institutional Revolutionary Party lost the election to the National Action Party after 71 years. Throughout the film, issues of economy and politics are subtly raised, but always presented as background information rather than having a direct impact on the plot. Tenoch’s father is a political official, important enough to have the president of Mexico as a guest at his daughter’s wedding, and although Julio gets on well with Tenoch’s family, they are political polar opposites. It is revealed at the end of the film that some of the things which the audience have seen during the film have been affected as a result of the change in political power, coincidently it is also noted that Tenoch and Julio are no longer friends. Cuarón has created a powerful backdrop for his film and the imagery of poor, rural Mexico serves to enforce the reality of the boys’ lives.
At the heart of it, Y Tu Mama Tambien is essentially a coming of age story, detailing the, literally, emotional journey of best friends Julio and Tenoch. The film opens with a shot which illustrates both the grounding and the destruction of the boys’ friendship - sex. Cuarón is fearless in his choice of opening shot, which places the audience voyeuristically sneaking into Tenoch’s bedroom as he is having sex with his girlfriend, with a sweaty recklessness which sets the tone for the entire movie. Cuarón certainly took a risk when he made the decision to show such unabashed scenes of sex, although his choice was no doubt influenced by the fact that he had such an attractive cast to work with. All immaturities to one side, Cuarón has pin pointed the attitude most young people have towards sex, the disposability of it, and the way that emotions are ignored until it is you who becomes hurt. Tenoch and Julio are the ultimate horny teenage boys, bragging about their sexual exploits and trying to outdo one another, but their friendship is put to the test as a result. Neither one shows any signs of growing up or taking responsibility, and they are doubly put to shame when Luisa tells them that their manifesto is as meaningless as the sex they have.
Genuinely moving and humorous, but, at times, cringe worthy, Y Tu Mama Tambien reaches beyond its expected audience of young hipsters with a relevance which spans a multitude of ages. Cuarón has managed to present pressing issues in a way which retains a light hearted and enjoyable viewing experience whilst making you think. JHA
Film: La Zona
Release date: 23rd February 2009
Certificate: 15
Running time: 97 mins
Director: Rodrigo Plá
Starring: Daniel Giménez Cacho, Maribel Verdú, Alan Chávez, Daniel Tovar, Carlos Bardem
Genre: Drama/Thriller
Studio: Soda
Format: DVD
Country: Spain/Argentina/Mexico
Uruguayan born director and screenwriter Rodrigo Pla utilises the increasingly popular, yet socially divisive American style gated community to take a large critical swipe at middle-class Mexico’s attempt to distance itself from its poorer and less fortunate countrymen.
The movie begins with a finely crafted opening salvo, as the camera scans the homes of the advantaged few before rising skyward and sweeping over a high defensive wall to concentrate on the wretched souls beyond.
A thunderous rainstorm ensues, lightening strikes bringing down a billboard, and a bridge of opportunity is crafted from the surrounding destruction. The residents of an enclosed community are visited by three aggressive male reminders of a inferior dog eat dog world.
An attempted robbery, born from a necessity to achieve sustenance, backfires leaving several people dead and one frightened teenager on the run from a hate filled vigilante mob.
The inhabitants’ seclusion is guaranteed by the Mexican government on the provision that their private security force can keep the area crime free. With latest developments placing their privileged lifestyle in serious jeopardy, the community’s leaders begin a cover up that threatens more than just the isolated invader’s life…
La Zona, Rodrigo Pla’s second directorial feature film, which won the People’s Choice award at Montreal’s 2007 Festival du Nouveau Cinema, is a thought provoking thriller that tries to rise above its contemporaries by injecting a topical dilemma into an old fashioned morality play.
The director sets to his task with an assured confidence that defies his inexperience. The opening is refreshingly well paced and suspenseful, while the cinematography by Emiliano Villanueva is skilfully executed, and perhaps the strongest element in the movie’s arsenal. Not only do we see the vast gaping financial and unethical hole between the societies but due, in no small part, to the staged setting of prosperity surrounded by slum vistas, we can virtually feel, taste and smell the divide. This in turn forces us to choose a side; we empathise with the poorer downtrodden population and begin to despise the inhabitants of the gated community.
The plot evolves nicely throughout the film’s first hour as a community leader’s son, Alejandro (Daniel Tovar), takes the moral high ground and becomes the lone protector of the hunted boy. Our interest is well and truly captured, and the script has drawn us in and made us want to see Pla deal with the questions raised. What is a life worth? Without money are we all the same? Is survival and protection the true road to human wealth? Unfortunately, once all the elements are in place, the implementation of the story becomes stale, the dialogue weakens, almost clichéd, and our attention begins to wane. What started out as an opportunity to make a valid statement, and raise important issues within the boundaries of an entertaining thriller, now sinks below the weight of its own expectations.
The majority of roles - a frustrated cop (Mario Zaragoza) and two teen leads aside (Tovar and Alan Chavez) - are almost completely void of any real development, leaving the actors with a mountain to climb as they attempt to breathe life into their one dimensional characters. If the same amount of attention had been paid to character and story arcs as the set up and enthralling first half then the director would have had something special on his CV. Yes, this movie did win the People’s Choice award, but so have many better and more deserving movies than La Zona, a significant number of which, as well as those involved, have now slipped into obscurity.
The issues raised and the points made by Pla regarding his adopted country, having moved to Mexico in his youth, are extremely well presented, but, unfortunately, as the story progresses, the thrills are lost in a swamp of lacklustre stereotyping. Yet just when all hope seems lost, Pla turns things around; he rejuvenates his tale with an unexpected and bold, if somewhat downbeat, final fifteen minutes.
A topical suspense filled thriller with an impressive opening that is perversely matched by its dire second breath before being plucked from the ashes, Phoenix like, and saved by an admirably brave and poignant ending. MG
