Guillermo del Toro and Mexican directors in the news

This interview with Guillermo del Toro (in Spanish) explains a lot about how he made his film El laberinto del fauno (Pan's Labyrinth). The film received a 22 minute ovation at Cannes, and has just been nominated for six Oscars. Opinions of Spanish critics were divided on how he portrayed elements of the Civil War. He also made Cronos, Hellboy, Blade II, and El espinazo del diablo (a film set during the Civil War itself). Bob Mondello talks on MPR about the three Mexican directors who have made important films this year: Alejandro González Iñárritu, director of Babel (following on Amores perros and 21 Grams; Alfonso Cuarón Children of Men (Director of Y tu mamá también and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban) and Mondello points out that Babel, Children of Men, and Pan's Labyrinth are political films, that portray dystopian worlds, and that all three directors have used their Hollywood success to be able to make these more personal, less commercial movies. The three of them are also good friends, close collaborators, and incredibly talented and imaginative creators. UPDATE: Alfonso C. talks about being classified as "Mexican directors" in The Guardian

Terry Gross interviews Guillermo del Toro on Fresh Air on NPR. Del Toro points out that "fairy tales" were originally for adults, not children, and were ways for us to grapple with traumas, not entertain children. He is a very intelligent, articulate speaker on his own work, with fascinating stories about his life and work. He was interested in how long the resistance to Franco actually lasted, their role in supporting the Allies, and how they were forgotten when it was more convenient to see Franco as an ally in the Cold War. He grew up in Mexico, and compares his grandmother to Piper Laurie in Carrie, but then also says he learned from her how to love people for their defects. He no longer can live in Mexico in part because of the experience of having to negotiate with his two brothers to ransom his father from kidnappers. One of the kidnappers asked him what he did, and he replied "I write," and the kidnapper told him, "so go write every morning." He calls El laberinto "A parable of disobedience and choice." Some people love it madly, one person I saw it with hated it. I'd definitely going to rent his other films after listening to this fascinating interview.