Has anyone else seen this? When "Pans Labyrinth" lost Best Foreign Film at this years Oscar to this, I thought they were robbed. That was until I finally watched Lives Of Others. This was one of the most powerful movies I have ever seen. It's definitely in my top movies of all time now. (Edited for clarification)
I liked the fact that it was like a children's story but contrasted with the hard reality and violence of her real world. This reminded me of Bridge of Terabithia, although I saw Pans Lab 2 months ago.
My original post read weird, I meant to say that I loved Pans, so I thought it got robbed when it lost Best Foreign Film to Lives Of Others. But I just watched Lives... and realized why it won. It was so incredible. One of the few movies I've ever seen that I don't think I would change one thing about. But yeah, I agree with your feelings on Pans. It was awesome.
Both films were great -- I particularly liked "Lives" given the parallels of how we are living today.
I concur. "Lives" is the bomb; a very suspenseful and powerfully entertaining film. It is superb melodrama in the vein of Douglas Sirk; an outstanding morality play without seeming preachy. Muhe is iconic as Wiesler, the Stasi intelligence agent. It certainly deserved all the accolades it received during awards season. I am also a big fan of PL.
Wow. Now I have to see this - if you can seriously compare it to Sirk that's awesome. His late-period films are some of my all-time favorites.
The late Sirk reference did it for me too. Just saw "Pan's" for the second time recently. What an extraordinary film. Although it's a lot tougher to view in some ways, another "imaginative child in peril" film I really loved recently was Terry Gilliam's "Tideland." It's a love it or hate it sort of movie, a real wild ride. IMHO it's a work of creative genius. Sorry for the drift ... gotta see "The Lives of Others" !
"Pan's Lab." and "Lives" are both fantastic. It's cool how both films feature lead characters who withdraw from their tyrannical/fascistic environments in favor of parallel worlds (a fantastical labyrinth, or the lives of bohemian others) to discover what their "real world" environments deprive them of (namely, their humanity). Really great stuff. But my favorite movie from last year was "Children of Men"!! F*cking awesome.
You know, I liked Children of Men. It was certainly an incredibly well made film, but honestly it depressed the hell out of me I was sitting there the whole time thinking that somewhere in the world, something similar to this is happening right now, and it seriously bummed me out. Not that the same doesn't hold true for Pans and Lives, which is probably why both resonated so strongly with me, but they weren't so apocalyptic I guess.
You're absolutely right, "Children of Men" is depressing; in fact the fate of mankind hangs in the balance at story's end and it's anyone's guess what will happen next. "Lives" and "Pan's Lab." both have positive outcomes, even though somewhat tragic. They are both stories about individuals successfully asserting their humanity to overcome authority. I like these kinds of anti-authoritarian stories (especially "One flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest"). "Children..." is more about the nature of mankind itself. Sometimes I don't like these kinds of movies cuz they are essentially anti-human. They either end with a moral like: "Oh, stupid humans, if only you would ______ (fill in the blank), the world would be a beautiful place." Or they end with a crushingly nihilistic assessment of mankind that makes you want to slit your wrists. "Children..." reminded me of the Twilight Zone episode where aliens, as an experiment, cut off electricity to a neighborhood and then watch as all the people in the neighborhood turn into "savage" bastards within a few hours. What I enjoyed about that TW episode and "Children..." and other stories like "Lord of the Flies", or "Thin Red Line", is that they acknowledge our place among (not above, or apart from) all carbon-based life. They aren't screeds against humanity, they're trying to show different forces at work within the universe. Or put another (more affirmative) way, these kinds of stories remind me that attributes associated with being humane and/or civilized must be earned daily to be sustained. Similarly, one of the things I really appreciated about "Children..." is it asks the question: in a world where everything is going to sh*t, why bother with anything? At one point, the lead (clive owen) asks his cousin (an avid art collector), why he bothers collecting art when the human race will be extinct shortly. His response is bluntly honest, something like, "I just don't think about it." Again, this is an important reminder to me because I often slip into mindless consumption. Gimme, gimme. Also, the filmmaking in "Children..." is f*cking amazing. The fx aren't flashy, but they are jaw-droppingly impressive once you appreciate the impossibly long, complicated set-ups and sequences that flow seamlessly with what appear to be no cuts; and the cgi baby covered in placenta goo is top notch!!
Children of Men and Pan's were my favorite films of the year, but I heard great things from people's who's tatste I strongly respect about the Lives of Others - I need to see it!
i haven't seen Lives of Others but am looking forward to it. i also really enjoyed Pan's as well, although i found the "real" story more compelling than the imaginary part Children of Men was by far my favorite film of last year. I actually thought it was very hopeful at the end? lol so, i guess if i'm trying to say anything here, its "if u haven't seen Children of Men, go rent it!!"
