edited by Jonathan Doyle

Mafioso (The Criterion Collection, 3.18.2008) Nino Badalamenti is a supervisor in a car manufacturing plant who hasn't taken a vacation in over two years. On his way out the door to visit his beloved childhood hometown of Sicily -- with his blonde wife and daughters -- Nino is handed a package by his boss and asked to deliver it to a powerful and influential Sicilian gangster named Don Vincenzo. Once in Sicily, Nino has a hoot seeing friends and family, but his wife has trouble fitting in and is unfairly dismissed as a snob by Nino's family. Even more worrisome, Nino finds himself entangled in an intricate web of secret mafioso dealings and is eventually sent on an unexpectedly... elaborate errand. (continued)

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Del Toro's "Pan's Labyrinth" Rules

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Two witnesses have told me that Pan's Labyrinth received the longest standing ovation of any film that played at Cannes when it showed last Saturday night. And now Salon's Andrew O'Heir is calling it "hands down the most exciting and original film I've seen here, and the one that had me in tears during its final scenes. Mexican director Guillermo del Toro is best known as the director of such fanboy classics as Hellboy, Mimic and Blade 2, which are cool enough in their way. Pan's Labyrinth is something else again, and something far more powerful and original. Combining a fully convincing fantasy universe (drawn from a lifelong obsession with classic fairy tales) with a completely realistic story about the endgame of the Spanish Civil War, this film features a heart-rending performance from young Ivana Baquero as Ofelia, the teenage stepdaughter of a vicious Fascist officer (Sergi Lopez), who's fighting a ragtag band of Republican guerrillas in a remote mountainous area. Ofelia's ailing mother tells her that she's too old for fairy tales, but the array of friendly and terrifying creatures she meets in the woods don't seem to agree. If she can face a series of trials against the various monsters and demons of the region, she can prove herself as the King of the Underworld's long-lost daughter. But neither the giant evil toad nor the eyeless child-eating gargoyle is as frightening as her stepdad, with his spit-shined shoes, his cracked watch and his revolver."

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on May 30, 2006 at 12:41 PM

comment #1

Daniel Zelter says ...

Didn't they just say Clerks 2 received the longest standing ovation...?

Posted by Daniel Zelter at May 30, 2006 01:04 PM

comment #2

Mike Scimeca says ...

Actually, this reminds me a lot of the Devil's Backbone. That movie was directed by Del Toro, and also set against the backdrop of the Spanish Civil War. It had some otherworldly parts (the ghost of a boy, and the idea of killing a mammoth with spears) and also included a real life bad guy who represented the facists. Seems like Pan's Labryinth is an expansion of the ideas originally set forth in that movie. Did I mention that it was good?

Posted by Mike Scimeca at May 30, 2006 02:16 PM

comment #3

Rob says ...

Sounds great. When's it opening?

Posted by Rob at May 30, 2006 02:29 PM

comment #4

JD says ...

I'm a Del Toro fan -- strangely, though, I'm less enthusiastic about The Devil's Backbone than his other films -- and I'm very anxious to see Pan's Labyrinth, but are these standing ovations really indicative of anything significant? I could be totally wrong, but I have trouble believing that Clerks 2 is any more worthy or emotionally affecting than Volver or Babel. I didn't hear anything about 8-minute standing ovations for those award-winners.

By the way, where's that interview Jeff did with Del Toro? Did I miss it?

Posted by JD at May 30, 2006 02:35 PM

comment #5

Stephe96 says ...

These alleged ovations are getting out of hand. Soon we'll be reading about the Cannes audience standing up and applauding for about two-and-a-half days straight, with a few members dropping dead from exhaustion and dozens being taken to local hospitals for treatment.

Posted by Stephe96 at May 30, 2006 03:23 PM

comment #6

Fygar says ...

If you ever get the chance, Del Toro's commentary on Devil's Backbone is really worth a listen. It's less a commentary and more a treatise on the ambiguous nature of beauty and truth.

He sort of reminds me of David Milch: one of those dudes that can, at the drop of a hat, reference obscure historical/philisophical/art history facts and not come off as condescending.

Posted by Fygar at May 30, 2006 06:02 PM

comment #7

ckrrr says ...

"Spanish civil war" + "heart-rending performance from young" + "friendly and terrifying creature" = Spirit of the Beehive! Jeffrey, since I won't be able to see Pan's Labyrinth for a good while, do you care to draw any other connections between Pan and Spain's greatest film.

Posted by ckrrr at May 30, 2006 06:35 PM

comment #8

Clappy McGee says ...

I clapped until my hands were beet red with blood and pus oozing from every wrinkle in my palms! Everything is saw at Cannes was magnifique!

Posted by Clappy McGee at May 30, 2006 06:41 PM

comment #9

Ju-osh says ...

I'm going to piggyback on Fygar's comment and add that the two different (region 1 dvd) versions of The Devil's Backbone contain two different commentaries. And like Fygar said, they're both intelligent and impressive.

Posted by Ju-osh at May 30, 2006 07:07 PM

comment #10

frank0108 says ...

Fuck David Milch for ending Deadwood. Cocksucker!!!

Posted by frank0108 at May 30, 2006 10:10 PM

comment #11

Mark Grasinski says ...

David Milch didn't end Deadwood, HBO did. They offered him a fourth season of just a handful of episodes and he said it wouldn't work.

Posted by Mark Grasinski at May 31, 2006 12:14 AM

comment #12

Kevin Smith says ...

Dan Zelter wrote "Didn't they just say Clerks 2 received the longest standing ovation...?"

No - they said "Clerks II" received an eight minute standing ovation. It was wonderful, but nowhere near the longest standing ovation at a Cannes screening (although maybe it was the longest standing ovation for a midnight screening at the fest; we're not sure). The "Fahrenheit 9/11" standing ovation was easily fourteen minutes, I'd always heard.

Posted by Kevin Smith at May 31, 2006 04:33 AM

comment #13