Slog - Comments on I Totally Fell http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/i_totally_fell I had a serious problem with Pan's Labyrinth: the damned movie had no humor in it at all. When you're making a movie about a child, you have to include some levity somewhere or else the whole thing seems artificial. The bad guy was way too irredeemably nasty, the magical stuff was way too self-important, and the whole thing was so dismal that I was praying for a pie fight halfway through. The Fall has many of the elements of Pan's Labyrinth: a girl in the middle of a serious situation, complex and dark adult events going on all... Copyright 2008 Tue, 27 May 2008 12:00:00 -0800 Sat, 31 May 2008 16:58:24 -0800 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=3.34 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Comment by elenchos But that's what's great about Pan’s Labyrinth. I doesn't follow the formula that tells you what must happen when you're making a movie with a child.

]]> elenchos http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/i_totally_fell#c1032651 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/i_totally_fell#c1032651 SIFF Tue, 27 May 2008 12:05:45 -0800 Comment by KBF When you’re making a movie about a child, you have to include some levity somewhere or else the whole thing seems artificial

You're right, Anne Frank's Diary was definately lacking the pie-fight conclusion.

]]> KBF http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/i_totally_fell#c1032652 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/i_totally_fell#c1032652 SIFF Tue, 27 May 2008 12:06:03 -0800 Comment by thanks happy I was at the screening Sunday and I totally agree. I loved the film and will probably go see it again (and drag as many friends as I can) when it opens this weekend. I haven't cried that hard at a movie since Dancer in the Dark. Maybe it was because we were in the back row, but it felt totally cathartic to just let go and weep. What a beautiful film.

]]> thanks happy http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/i_totally_fell#c1032656 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/i_totally_fell#c1032656 SIFF Tue, 27 May 2008 12:12:59 -0800 Comment by Mr. Poe No humor was what made Pan's Labyrinth so great.

Go rent Lemony Snicket and be sure to pick up a drool cup while you're at it.

]]> Mr. Poe http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/i_totally_fell#c1032657 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/i_totally_fell#c1032657 SIFF Tue, 27 May 2008 12:13:04 -0800 Comment by Cow I was going to argue about Pan's Labyrinth, but the other commenters got there first. Still, this movie sounds neat, and I'll be down in Seattle this weekend, so I'll have to drop in and see it.

]]> Cow http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/i_totally_fell#c1032661 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/i_totally_fell#c1032661 SIFF Tue, 27 May 2008 12:15:15 -0800 Comment by NapoleonXIV Pan's Labyrinth would have been so much better with Jim Carey as the Captain.

You know, to liven things up with maybe an ad lib or two....

]]> NapoleonXIV http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/i_totally_fell#c1032664 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/i_totally_fell#c1032664 SIFF Tue, 27 May 2008 12:20:30 -0800 Comment by labrynth worshiper thanks for making me NEVER want to see The Fall.

]]> labrynth worshiper http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/i_totally_fell#c1032681 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/i_totally_fell#c1032681 SIFF Tue, 27 May 2008 12:40:54 -0800 Comment by Julie I am with the other commenters... Pan's Labyrinth definitely didn't need humor in my book. In fact, it seems to me like that would have brought me out of the story. She used fantasy to help her cope with her situation, not humor, which I thought was a completely believable and natural thing to do.

Anyways, saw the trailer for The Fall at a movie yesterday -- it looks beautiful. But, the trailer didn't immediately draw me in to the story -- I think maybe it revealed too much. I definitely plan on seeing it at some point though.

]]> Julie http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/i_totally_fell#c1032683 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/i_totally_fell#c1032683 SIFF Tue, 27 May 2008 12:42:32 -0800 Comment by jewritto I've been waiting for this movie for a long time. All of the gorgeous visuals from The Cell without any Jenifer Lopez.

]]> jewritto http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/i_totally_fell#c1032696 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/i_totally_fell#c1032696 SIFF Tue, 27 May 2008 13:00:50 -0800 Comment by Jay Andrew Allen I'll see this movie with an open mind. Sounds intriguing. But the notion that Pan's needs humor is just...ugh.

]]> Jay Andrew Allen http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/i_totally_fell#c1032697 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/i_totally_fell#c1032697 SIFF Tue, 27 May 2008 13:00:53 -0800 Comment by Gurldoggie I actually didn't think Pan's Labyrinth was serious ENOUGH. I liked the movie okay, but can only imagine that a child living through that gruesome war would had very little time or incentive for fantasy. To say nothing of pie fights.

I'll try to see The Fall while it's in town, but my favorite film in the "to be a child during a war" genre remains "The Spirit of the Beehive." The precocious children in that film try to use their imaginations to cope with the world around them and find that reality is just too complex and painful to wish away.

]]> Gurldoggie http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/i_totally_fell#c1032698 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/i_totally_fell#c1032698 SIFF Tue, 27 May 2008 13:03:04 -0800 Comment by NapoleonXIV Yeah, but its the book reviewer talking, anyhow.

]]> NapoleonXIV http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/i_totally_fell#c1032699 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/i_totally_fell#c1032699 SIFF Tue, 27 May 2008 13:03:15 -0800 Comment by Banna That part where they tied the captured rebel up in the barn and proceeded to crush and dismember parts of his body was pretty hilarious.

]]> Banna http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/i_totally_fell#c1032704 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/i_totally_fell#c1032704 SIFF Tue, 27 May 2008 13:11:31 -0800 Comment by crazycatguy Pans Labyrinth was a overblown piece of crap that needed a child's murder to be "serious."

]]> crazycatguy http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/i_totally_fell#c1032725 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/i_totally_fell#c1032725 SIFF Tue, 27 May 2008 13:24:36 -0800 Comment by Paul Constant The Diary of Anne Frank had moments of levity--reread it and you'll see. I'm not saying that Pan's Labyrinth needed a happy ending, I'm saying that it's impossible for children to be as relentlessly dour as the girl in that movie was.

]]> Paul Constant http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/i_totally_fell#c1032900 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/i_totally_fell#c1032900 SIFF Tue, 27 May 2008 14:07:07 -0800 Comment by Vince I thought "Pan's Labyrinth" was more about war with the fascists in Spain than about the child. The child seemed to mirror what was happening in the war with her fantasy. Isn't that why the Captain was killed running from the Labyrinth? Or I could be wrong. Those European films...

]]> Vince http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/i_totally_fell#c1032954 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/i_totally_fell#c1032954 SIFF Tue, 27 May 2008 14:25:29 -0800 Comment by Casey While I don't know if I would say it was better than 'Pan's Labyrinth', I'm totally with you on how amazing 'The Fall' was. The only downside was that I'm now pretty sure I won't see a better movie during the rest of the festival...everything else is just going to pale in comparison.

]]> Casey http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/i_totally_fell#c1032974 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/i_totally_fell#c1032974 SIFF Tue, 27 May 2008 14:33:25 -0800 Comment by Will in Seattle The Fall was good, but Sita Sings the Blues was better. Heck, so was Vexille.

]]> Will in Seattle http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/i_totally_fell#c1033026 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/i_totally_fell#c1033026 SIFF Tue, 27 May 2008 14:51:29 -0800 Comment by Mr. Poe @18

Wow, Will! You managed to find similarity where there is none!

Oh, no, you're just continuing to find ways to tell everyone every movie you've seen so far at SIFF.

]]> Mr. Poe http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/i_totally_fell#c1033048 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/i_totally_fell#c1033048 SIFF Tue, 27 May 2008 14:59:45 -0800 Comment by Andy I thought The Fall was mediocre. Pretty, but uneven in almost every other way. The cryfest lasted way, way too long. I got a little bored.

]]> Andy http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/i_totally_fell#c1033063 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/i_totally_fell#c1033063 SIFF Tue, 27 May 2008 15:04:36 -0800 Comment by Chalupa Paul, you seem like an interesting guy. But sometimes you seem like a giant wuss.

]]> Chalupa http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/i_totally_fell#c1033110 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/i_totally_fell#c1033110 SIFF Tue, 27 May 2008 15:31:14 -0800 Comment by Will in Seattle No, I saw them back to back, Mr. Poe, and there are some thematic elements in each that impinge on the other.

I personally rated The Fall higher than any of my friends did, FWIW. There are other movies coming out that were in SIFF as well.

From my viewpoint, I would recommend The Fall to people, but not everyone will think it's the best movie of the year, and I can't say I blame them.

]]> Will in Seattle http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/i_totally_fell#c1033169 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/i_totally_fell#c1033169 SIFF Tue, 27 May 2008 16:06:10 -0800 Comment by Ramdu I hated Pan's Labyrinth and it's crypto-Catholic morality and plot-coupon fantasy elements and cartoon Spanish history, so your words are like manna to me. Now Tideland was an excellent movie about a young girl making her way with pluck and imagination in a dark and dangerous world.

]]> Ramdu http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/i_totally_fell#c1033219 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/i_totally_fell#c1033219 SIFF Tue, 27 May 2008 16:37:05 -0800 Comment by Will in Mr. Poe's Seattle Yeah, but Pan's Labyrinth had pretty images ...

]]> Will in Mr. Poe's Seattle http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/i_totally_fell#c1033269 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/i_totally_fell#c1033269 SIFF Tue, 27 May 2008 17:03:48 -0800 Comment by NapoleonXIV It could have used a monkey sidekick, I guess.

]]> NapoleonXIV http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/i_totally_fell#c1033290 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/i_totally_fell#c1033290 SIFF Tue, 27 May 2008 17:16:02 -0800 Comment by Mr. Poe No, I saw them back to back, Mr. Poe, and there are some thematic elements in each that impinge on the other.

What the fuck are you babbling about? Name 'em.

]]> Mr. Poe http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/i_totally_fell#c1033300 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/i_totally_fell#c1033300 SIFF Tue, 27 May 2008 17:24:59 -0800 Comment by Krrrk I can think of a moment of humor Pan's Labyrinth.

After the captain has his cheek sliced open he takes a drink of liquor that leaks through his bandage and causes pain.

At least I thought it was humorous.

]]> Krrrk http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/i_totally_fell#c1033328 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/i_totally_fell#c1033328 SIFF Tue, 27 May 2008 17:51:45 -0800 Comment by Aaron Huffman "Yeah, but its the book reviewer talking, anyhow."

What does that even mean? Do you think before you type these things in?

]]> Aaron Huffman http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/i_totally_fell#c1033419 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/i_totally_fell#c1033419 SIFF Tue, 27 May 2008 19:50:11 -0800 Comment by NapoleonXIV Well, Mr. Aaron Huffman:

In point of fact--no.

No, I don't.

]]> NapoleonXIV http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/i_totally_fell#c1033427 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/i_totally_fell#c1033427 SIFF Tue, 27 May 2008 19:58:08 -0800 Comment by Will in Mr. Poe's Seattle Did you see Vexille and Sita Sings the Blues, Mr. Poe?

If you haven't then discussing the thematic elements that impinge on each other of these three excellent movies is like arm-wrestling with a one-armed man with one arm tied behind his back ...

Just as an example ... the desert. Think of what it means in all three movies. Realize it changes it's meaning in all three movies. Ask yourself which desert was longer, which had a better story, and which had better music. Think about how the desert music in all three affected your perception of the desert, and how water in the desert had multiple meanings. As well as women in the desert, and love.

Like I said, I can't arm wrestle you with your one arm tied behind your back.

]]> Will in Mr. Poe's Seattle http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/i_totally_fell#c1033557 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/i_totally_fell#c1033557 SIFF Wed, 28 May 2008 01:00:11 -0800 Comment by Will in Seattle And then we could talk about pain, drugs, young men, ... the list goes on ...

]]> Will in Seattle http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/i_totally_fell#c1033558 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/i_totally_fell#c1033558 SIFF Wed, 28 May 2008 01:01:34 -0800 Comment by Mr. Poe You're a fucking idiot, Will. There is no goddamn desert in Pan's Labyrinth.

"Thematic elements" "impinging on the other". Realize the nonexistent desert in Pan's Labyrinth meaning is different than the other two, which are both different, yet somehow you're judging them side by side?

Just as an example ... the desert. Think of what it means in all three movies. Realize it changes it's meaning in all three movies. Ask yourself which desert was longer, which had a better story, and which had better music. Think about how the desert music in all three affected your perception of the desert, and how water in the desert had multiple meanings. As well as women in the desert, and love.

God. That's embarrassing to even read, Will.

]]> Mr. Poe http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/i_totally_fell#c1033617 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/i_totally_fell#c1033617 SIFF Wed, 28 May 2008 07:59:02 -0800 Comment by exelizabeth The thing that sucked about Pan's Labyrinth was how everyone just gushed about how amazing and beautiful it was, and I went in not knowing a single thing about it. I thought it was a kid's movie and only figured out it was going in a different direction when that guy got his face smashed in with a coke bottle.

Basically, it just pissed me off that my friends failed to mention it's incredibly dark and violent, and if I don't know that about a movie, I have a hard time appreciating it since I'm just waiting for the next horrible thing to happen. I had a friend walk out when she thought Mercedes was going to get raped, since she can't watch rape scenes. But I guess that'll teach me to actually read about movies before I see them.

]]> exelizabeth http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/i_totally_fell#c1033664 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/i_totally_fell#c1033664 SIFF Wed, 28 May 2008 09:34:21 -0800 Comment by rbnorton Irk! Should you and your friend really be watching R-rated movies at all? "Graphic violence and language" didn't tip you off? As much as I hate the MPAA, at least they still provide the service of helping to distinguish between children's films and *not* children's films.

]]> rbnorton http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/i_totally_fell#c1033872 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/i_totally_fell#c1033872 SIFF Wed, 28 May 2008 12:45:27 -0800 Comment by kybes I saw this movie on Sunday and was very disappointed. I expected a movie with intense visual stimulation and a weak plot and instead got a movie with formulaic "rich visuals" and a weak plot. I thought the cinematography was all crap except for the scenes where the girl sat with the injured mad on the bed. The visuals otherwise were empty. They were not art, they were advertising. But what should I have expected from an MTV video director? I did prefer the visual in The Cell to this film, but it was an even worse plot/acting spectacle.

I have seen people compare this movie to Jodorowsky regarding the visuals and I just doubt that these people can even appreciate art. Jodorowsky is a genius. This was pulpy crap.

I was certainly impressed by the breadth of locations but I thought they weren't photographed/filmed well.

]]> kybes http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/i_totally_fell#c1037342 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/i_totally_fell#c1037342 SIFF Sat, 31 May 2008 16:58:24 -0800