Pan’s Labyrinth and Tideland
Several months ago I watched both Pan’s Labyrinth and Tideland within a few weeks of each other. They have some notable parallels, and are both quite disturbing explorations of the imaginative worlds of children. I meant to write a piece about this, but for various reasons it ended up on the back burner for a long time until I saw an interview with Guillermo del Toro (the director of Pan’s Labyrinth) in a documentary about fantasy writing and films, and it reminded me that I’d never got around to it.
I suspect that one of the reasons I dragged my heels a bit was because I found both films deeply disturbing (in different ways), and rather harrowing to watch. Don’t get me wrong — I think they’re both great films, but they aren’t easy viewing by any means.
