Pan's Labyrinth: 8/10
Ktspktsp and I went to see it last night and we couldn't stop talking about it all the way home. From the Spanish Civil War aspects (we spent a long time reading up on it when we got home; thanks Wikipedia!) to the philosophical and almost spiritual complexities of the film, we were either in shock or awe for most of the film. It's not easy to watch... some scenes are utterly gut-wrenching in their violence. It isn't a feel-good movie by any means. But goddamn if it doesn't grab you by the balls (figurative, in my case
) and hypnotize you till the end.
And, it's in Spanish with English subtitles, which I think is so cool for a relatively major American-release film. We need more Spanish language movies (foreign movies in general) for American audiences.
L'enfant (The Child): 8/10
We rented this on Friday night (ktspktsp had heard of it; it won the highest award at Cannes last year) and I was hesitant at first... but I'm so glad we watched it. I'm surprised it didn't get more play at American theatres, but I highly recommend checking it out if you can find it at Blockbuster.
It's about a petty thief 20-something guy who sells his own newborn child (without the mother's consent) to make an extra buck... then spends the rest of the movie waking up to what he's done, and what made it so wrong (he didn't see any problem with it at the time: "We'll have another one," he tells the girlfriend). I'm not doing it justice, but the character development is powerful. The "child" is not the baby... it's the young man facing up to his long-delayed sense of responsibility. A transition worth watching.
Belgian-French, with English subtitles.