Terabithia's Labyrinth (Flickgrrl)

Terabithia's Labyrinth

That's AnnaSophia Robb and Josh Hutcherson in the shattering and exquisite Bridge to Terabithia.

The smaller pic below is of Ivana Baquero and Doug Jones in the shattering and exquisite "Pan's Labyrinth."

The first, Gabor Csupo's film adaptation of Katherine Paterson's fine novel, is a PG-rated account of troubled preteens who retreat to a fantasy world to work through problems in their lives; the second, Guillermo del Toro's R-rated original, is the R-rated version of same.

Of the 350-plus films I've seen in the past year, these are the two that have penetrated the most profoundly, probably because both suggest that fantasy worlds -- i.e., the movies -- are unsafe, but soul-preserving, places.

Both are the works of artists who exhibit enormous sensitivity toward their youthful actors rather than the cloying sentimentality typically seen on the big screen. Csupo is the co-creator of television's Rugrats; Del Toro the maker of horror flicks such as Hellboy. No spoilers here, but after you see Terabithia I recommend Lance Mannion's lovely commentary.

Posted by Carrie Rickey on March 15, 2007 1:19 PM | Permalink

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The Author

Carrie Rickey

Carrie Rickey has been The Philadelphia Inquirer’s film critic for 21 years. She has reviewed films as diverse as “Water” and “The Waterboy,” profiled celebrities from Lillian Gish to Will Smith, and reported on technological beakthroughs from the video revolution to the rise of movies on demand. Her reviews are syndicated nationwide and she is a regular contributor to Entertainment Weekly, MSNBC and NPR. Rickey’s essays appear in numerous anthologies, including “The Rolling Stone History of Rock & Roll,” “The American Century,” and the Library of America’s “American Movie Critics.”

Got a question about your favorite movie or star? Want to know Carrie's take on the movies? ASK, AND GET YOUR ANSWER HERE.

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This page contains a single entry from the blog posted on March 15, 2007 1:19 PM.

The previous post in this blog was So Long, Trudy Kockenlocker.

The next post in this blog is Movie Shrines, Ritz Theaters, to Be Acquired by Landmark?.

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Flickgrrl

Carrie Rickey on film.