We live in a world where the artificial and the real are merging at an increasing speed. Indeed, the word real started to lose its original meaning many years ago, particularly in the 80s, as exemplified by the works of people such as Beaudrillard and Fukuyama.  Simulation, simulacrum, hyperreal, virtual reality, augmented reality, alternate reality, all different ways to describe variations of what is slowly replacing the real as we used to know it. As i described in this post and in this essay, animation is an ideal tool to explore these alternate realities and to depict visions of the future. But there are different ways of using animation in film, and some are better than others, depending on the criteria that one uses to judge a film.

Robert Zemeckis, who in 1988 was already exploring the merging of real characters and animation with Who Framed Roger Rabbit, brings his Polar Express (04) performance capture technology to Beowulf, the classic 8th century English poem. Performance capture, another term for motion capture, means that ‘real’ actors, equiped with sensors, act out the scenes in front of a bluescreen, which are then rendered as digi-animations. In most cases, performance capture is used to capture movement. In the case of Beowulf, it is also used to capture visual appearance. And this is where Zemeckis lost of a lot of critics.

For these people, watching The Incredibles (04) or Ratatouille (07) is one thing. In these films, it is clear that the animated humans are not real, even if the story takes place in a copy of our world. Therefore, their acting is not judged on the same level as that of a human actor. However, in Beowulf, the digital characters look a bit like Angelina Jolie and Anthony Hopkins. Hence, a natural reaction for many is to expect more from these characters than they would from an animated one. Afterall, acting is an essential element of solid filmmaking. If this acting is not properly conveyed due to technological limitations, then the film naturally suffers. For this reason (and a couple of others connected to the script), films such as Beowulf can not be as effective and impactful on the collective psyche as animated features have become. But it’s probably only a matter of time and Zemeckis must be given credit for pushing the envelope and for playing with the medium.

But Beowulf is also very entertaining and if one can see beyond the limitations mentioned above, there is plenty of action and escapist fun to be had with this tale of warriors, demons and dragons.

Pan’s Labyrinth, recipient a week ago of the National Society of Film Critics Best Picture award, seems like the perfect follow-up to Hellboy. Del Toro goes further in his study and exploration of Magic Realism in film and delivers a work that, in spite of its brutality and a couple of disturbing scenes, has a broader appeal than some his previous efforts. His craft and technique is clearly improving and he is slowing starting to make his mark on the industry, alongside his Mexican compatriots Inaritu and Cuaron.

I initially felt slightly disappointed that Pan’s Labyrinth did not contain more scenes in the alternate world of the Labyrinth. I wanted Pan to spend more time escaping the cruel reality that she was facing. Yet, I realized afterwards that the magic of the film lies not in the depiction of the fantastical but rather, in the perfect mixing of fantasy and reality. I suppose that this is exactly what magic realism is all about and that straying too far in one direction tilts the equilibrium away from what actually creates the beauty of the work.

Thus, Del Toro mixes the ingredients adroitly and creates a work that is at the same time beautiful and disturbing, enchanting and unsettling, real and dreamlike, historical and authentic, gothic and believable…it is perhaps easier to understand how good of a film Pan is by thinking about how easily it could have been a bad film. I have an idea: let’s take the Spanish Civil War, throw in a young girl who likes to escape reality by reading fairy tales, and add an alternate world of fauns and fairies. In most cases, this would sound more like a recipe for disaster than one for a film that is actually on its way to winning dozens of awards throughout the world. Del Toro is a man with a vision and the skills to implement it.

Despite its better than expected box office results in the UK and the US, this Walt Disney film falls way short of the hype that surrounded its release, unless of course you are taking your kids to see it, in which case the experience should be entertaining enough. However, as an ‘adult’ film, no comparison with The Lord of the Rings should be attempted. Narnia does not even come close to achieving what LOTR has done in terms of character development, plausible and interesting dialogues and solid acting. Even the CGI looked quite poor at times.