Pan's Labyrinth (2006)

A Dark and Violent Unicorn.

What fairy tales and unicorns have brought untill now is a fantasy world. Those stories start with 'Once upon a time' and end with 'happily ever after'. What Pan's Labyrinth does is pushes it further by not just connecting with the real time but interfering with it. Set in 1944 this is a story of Ofelia (Ivana Baquero), who is reading a fairy tale and is on a quest to find the clues to unlock a mystery. While doing so she is following her pregnant mother on a journey to meet her new father, Captain Vidal (Sergi Lopez). Vidal is a Captain of Spanish army. While Ofelia and her mother visit Vidal, Ofelia finds a layrinth located close to the mill where they have stationed. An insect takes Ofelia to the labyrinth where she meets Faun/Pan who explains her purpose over there. The colorful trip that follows their conversation is a fantastic journey.

Kudos to Mexican writer/director/producer Guillermo Del Toro. He has come up with a great new narrative to a fairy tale. This fairy tale has all the classic ingredients of mystery, clues, fantasy and beautiful visuals. The blending of reality and fairy tale is quite clever. Before you comprehend the connections the story goes further and opens up new horizons to explore. Anymore I will say and it will spoil the movie watching exprience.

Ofelia and Captain Vidal are the most memorable. 11 year old Ofelia is perhaps a package of innocence and a lot of energy who is not so happy with her step father. Her eyes speak of the curiosity and anxiety at every single point in the movie while lighting up the screen with her smile. Captain Vidal is a self-sufficient Fascist who polishes his own shoes. He is an intelligent, shrewd and ruthless Captain. Sergi Lopez has brought an attitude that will fear every character around him. A fine performance.

The character of Faun has a striking makeup that got Pan's Labyrinth one of the three Academy Awards, the other two for cinematography and costume. In one scene a soldier points Captain to a hill and then as Captain looks through binoculars all we see is green jungle and a trail of smoke coming out of the woods. The panning of the camera during the introduction of Faun is also fantastic. The cinematography by Guillermo Navarro is on the top of the list of things to look forward to.

This is a fairy tale from a whole new point of view that will open up questions and the answers to those will create memorable thoughts.

7/10.

Life in a Metro (2007)

Same old same old from a new writer.

The title of this movies gives an idea of the setup of the movie. City of Mumbai with local trains, clubs, shopping malls, cell phones, rain and good looking people on the street are the basic assumptions behind the title. What the story brings is an interwoven but not complicated lifestyle of about a dozen characters. Shikha (Shilpa Shetty) is married to Ranjeet (Kay Kay Menon) who is having a no strings attached romance with Neha (Kangana Ranawat) who is sharing her apartment with Shruti (Konkona Sen-Sharma) who is not just Shikha's sister but is also having a buddy Monty (Irfan Khan) who previously got acquainted with Shruti as an arranged marriage proposals while Neha is stalked by Rahul (Sharman Joshi) who works at a call center under the supervision of Ranjeet. Is that all? Actually no. Shikha, after the dissappointment from her marriage with Ranjeet, is having a 'butterflies-in-the-stomach' romance with Akash (Shiney Ahuja).

I think that sums it up. Now the question is what next? I guess thats when Anurag Basu (writer and director) starts his imagination or experiences with relationships. Compared to his previous project, Gangster (2006), the script of 'METRO' is rather crispier and the characters look more intelligent and believable. Even though there are almost 6 parallel stories in the script there is not a single time when it confuses. From the introduction of all to the finales writer keeps you on the same page as his. The ambiguities of extramarital and unsure relatioships are well written. Although intial fast pace of the script in the first 1 hr. drags a lot in the later half. The melodramatic finales of different couples are laughable. Save Shikha and Akash's temptations and anxieties. In a way this movie has almost nothing new to offer. What actually it offers is Shilpa Shetty's comeback and she perhaps steals the show with her looks. What accompanies is Shiney Ahuja (alway impressive) and Konkona Sen. Surprise package includes Sharman Joshi's ambitious character. His story with Kangana Ranawat (another 'for your eyes only') reminds of Shahrukh Khan and Juhi Chawla in Yes Boss (1997). Also why there was the story of vintage actor Dharmendra and Nafisa Ali???

Music score by Pritam will add a star to this movie. The picturizaion of these songs is also a fresh new way as opposed to the same old aerobics or dramatic styles. Direction of few scenes, like the erotic sequence of Shikha and Akash uses a good mixture of lights and shadows which also is pretty well acted by the two. Last but not the least Irfan Khan's Monty is quite memorable. He is funny as hell.

In and all the stories have been seen and heard before but fresh new faces including Shilpa Shetty and a nicely written screenplay will make this one a good experience. Worth a look with some pocorns and a gulp.

Rating: 5/10.