Foreign Language Hall of Fame

Okay...

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"A film has to be a dialogue, not a monologue — a dialogue to provoke in the viewer his own thoughts, his own feelings. And if a film is a dialogue, then it’s a good film; if it’s not a dialogue, it’s a bad film."

- Michael "Gloomy Old Fart" Haneke

”Phoenix” is a very well-crafted, and brilliantly acted, (not your typical) post-WWII film. It explores many interesting themes in interesting manners, such as the heavy guilt the war had left upon the people, who just want to ignore and sweep whatever issue there is under the rug, instead of confronting it, contrary to the actual survivors, who simply cannot forgive and forget. This contrast is presented in the form of the relationship, between our three main characters: Nelly, Johnny, and Lena.

Nelly holds on to the past, and is in constant denial of the present. She craves what she once had with her husband Johnny, so she desperately tries to reconnect with him. The sort of game Nelly is playing throughout the movie, is very interesting to explore, because it is approachable in numerous different ways. One can obviously look at it, as her being attached to the pedestal she put him on, or what he once was, even if he himself can’t live up to this idea she has of him anymore. I personally perceived the situation, as her seeking and trying to make him see who she actually was, this whole time.

While the central concept may need a few stretches to totally work, it still isn't a big of a deal, that makes one detached from the created atmosphere of the film. Not to mention, the particularly skilful execution, builds up to a great third act, and a fantastic hard-hitting ending.

This film is one of my favourites. A very dark fantasy, where the fantasy world the girl escapes to is just as bleak and harsh and difficult as the real world where she lives with her fascist stepfather. It seems to get to the creepy nature of fairy tales and fantastical creatures much better than the sanitised Disneyfied versions for children; despite still using a child as the main character. It reminded me in some ways of Spirited Away.

I remember being incredibly excited to watch this when it was released and I wasn’t disappointed. I don’t think rewatches can quite recapture the sort of engrossing effect of seeing it on the big screen and the thrill or terror of not knowing what would happen next. I’m not a fan of horror and this is probably the limit of my enjoyment of the sensation of being scared by a film.

The acting is all very good. The girl is convincing, the villain is suitably villainous. The special effects are all fantastic. The whole world is convincingly realised. I like most of Guillermo del Toro’s films. This might be his finest although last year’s The Shape of Water might give it a run for its money. It’s probably the most similar in many ways, although The Devil’s Backbone is also very good.

really enjoy del Torro's work and Pan's seems to be the top of the list for me, while at the same time it's Hellboy that I watch the most (maybe because I own it)
and Migod, Thursday I can see how that would be a bit traumatizing Re: the spoilers.
Really would have loved to have seen this at the theater, that would have been an excellent first watch.

I happen be a card carrying "dumb member" and quite proud of it, thank you

Pan's Labyrinth

As stated multiple times previously, I am a fanboy of Guillermo del Toro; his love and admiration for creatures and the supernatural is a beautiful thing to behold and this movie is one of his best.
A dark sojourn like any true Grimm-like fairy tale, we see the cruel dangers of both our reality and the the reality of the underworld via a young girl's extremely difficult travel through the labyrinth of both of them.
Del Toro does not hold back either, especially when it comes to the violence inflicted by the Captain and the imaginative creation of the creatures that inhabit the quests young Ofelia must face.
The tension never really lets up, especially when it comes to the rebellion forces inhabiting the woods looking to remove the tyrant and excessively volatile Captain.
On first watch these two extreme worlds may seem a bit jarring. I know on my original watch I had wished for more of the fantastical than the war story. But in retrospect, and in continual re-viewings, I see the delicate balance of the two and the flawless blending that creates this excellent story and film.
The filming and composition is rather exquisite with the use of shadowing that adds a kind of dark life all its own on many of the interior shots and even the woodland shots have this old forest feel to it.
Everything works exceedingly well in this movie, including the pacing that grips you and holds you to the very last moments.

Just looking at the pictures people have posted of Pan's Labyrinth I remember how much I like the colours and the lighting.

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big fan of that myself. It really did wonders for setting the mood, as it were

Looking more and more forward to this film.
Loved Nina Hoss in Barbara and, of course, the film itself, so. . .

I'm a huge fan of Barbara. @Thursday Next I seen your comment about Barbara, I'm thinking you would like it.

I'm glad you liked Phoenix, CR! Great review too.

For some reason this reminded me of a sign I saw when I was in Germany. There's a path between Oranienburg and the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp that prisoners would have had to walk on their way towards internment. There was a name on the sign calling it the walk of the dead or something.

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I actually found the picture I took of the sign much quicker than I thought. It was called the Death March. So my memory was only off a little bit.

I once seen an old WWII documentary of actual footage of a concentration camp being liberated. I'm sure you've seen how these people looked, like living skeletons. What stayed with me was what the narrator said, he said some of the survivors were so weakened that when the Americans feeds them, they died. That's grim.

Poor Nina got bumped off in the last season of Homeland.

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I’m here only on Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays. That’s why I’m here now.

Warning: Possible spoilers for Phoenix below.
Indeed. It's impossible to imagine what those poor souls had to endure.

Which actually brings me back to Phoenix again. One scene that I thought was really well done was when Nelly was trying to explain to Johnny that no one would come from a concentration camp in nice clothes and make-up. She was visibly upset at the idea of dressing up for the train ride "back", and didn't want to believe that Johnny was right about how people ignored the survivors and that her friends would just want to see the old Nelly. You could really see the conflict in her eyes.

One of the hardest things when the camps were finally liberated was the soldiers being told not to feed the prisoners. When a person is starving, they must be carefully fed only a little at a time until they start to recover. This was shown very tastefully in Band of Brothers.

I remember that episode. Amazing series. But, yeah, they did a beautiful and very touching aspect that situation.

I’ve seen the series many times. Brilliant.

did a rewatch last year, FULLY AGREE