Redmond Reel Spiel Report – Pan’s Labyrinth
Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Redmond Reel Spiel started off 2008 with a continued enthusiasm towards cinema. Pan’s Labyrinth, an academy award winning Spanish film was an instant delight with audience members. 77% of the students had heard of this visually stunning masterpiece. An overwhelming 86% of audience members rated this film as excellent, followed by a 9% rating of good and then a 5% rating of fair. This film, combining elements of horror, fantasy and history left many audience members speechless after the viewing reinforcing the notion that sometimes silence can be deafening.
Survey Comments
This was a unique movie. It kind of made you think that there is a fantasy kingdom. In a weird way, the movie was saying that right decisions are sometimes really hard to make and that you have to sacrifice a lot sometimes. I didn’t know if I felt happy or sad at the end of the movie.
This film was amazing. It scared me to see how brutal some people were in the time of war. Ofelia wanted to escape the horrible life she was living so she started her own fantasy and took it a little too far.
The film was extraordinary. I loved the fantasy mixed with terror. The girl protected her younger brother with her life and that was really nice. This film was one to remember forever.
This film was enchanting. It lifted my imagination away from modern reality and implanted it into the imagining of a truly remarkable story. The specific aspects of the film were the most appealing. For example, the ingenious setting and cinematography, the use of make up and acting. Despite the foreign language of the film, I found that it added to the film’s enchantment. The time between fantasy and reality, between the world of war and the underworld seems like a dream reflecting Ofelia’s inner battles.
That movie was breathtaking! You could not even command a silence to students that would have a greater effect than the one that followed after watching this film. I thought every moment of it was captivating. The blend between fantasy and real life was extraordinarily well done. AMAZING FILM! Ofelia = great actress
Depressing, sad, but well done. Good make-up. I like how everything fits together.
This was a very moving film. The blood and merciless killing made it hard to watch, but the girl’s story was amazing and original (Disney would never have made this movie). All the details in the setting and in the characters were marvellous. The fact that it was in Spanish did not matter at all. I never would have imagined fairies or fauns to look like they did. Even though the princess’ life was terrible (civil war, her mother’s death and her evil father, she still made it through and ended up back happily in her kingdom.

Redmond Reel Spiel Report - City of God
Thursday, November 8, 2007

Redmond Reel Spiel started off with a great response. CITY OF GOD, a Brazilian film was a crowd pleaser for grades 9-12. The intense drama was a discovery for 94% of the students. All students gave the film a positive rating. 70% of students gave the film an excellent rating, while 30% of the students gave the film a good rating. Thank you to all for a great and honest discussion on the film.
Survey Comments
It was moving, but very disturbing. It must be a terrible life. The way this was presented (narrated stories) really helped to make it easier to understand. It is strange that a religious country, the “city of God” is very violent, scary and lacking in morals.
It was a real eye opener. I would never think of those things happening in real life, but they do. The movie was very scary and made me feel uncomfortable at times, especially when the kids were shot. Overall, I enjoyed watching a movie that I wouldn’t normally see.
The film was excellent. It’s a moving film. It’s sad how people have to go through things like this. It must have been rough for Rocket and others who weren’t in the gang.
I really enjoyed how the film showed the backstory to some characters and how it started at the end. It made it really interesting to watch all the stories tie up and come together at the end. The acting was very well done, especially the children.
I thought it was a really good portrayal of what life is like in the slum. It could be considered too graphic, but I don’t think it was. It was just really honest and raw.
Enjoyed it very much. I liked how the violence and drugs were all throughout the film. Makes it feel as if you are actually living in the slum where the drugs and violence are unavoidable. The title “City of God” was great because you would expect a city of god to be full of love and peace but with the violence and drugs it’s more like a city of devil.
I felt that this movie was a great choice! Despite the graphic scenes (murder, sex, and violence), the message was pretty easy to understand. It wasa good choice in film for this age group, even though some things were hard to handle.
This film shows so many different views of the reality in places around the world. Living in Toronto and many other cities, you would never expect to walk outside and be greeted by vulgar language and 5 year olds pointing guns at you. It was very ironic to have the title “City of God” and have the movie lack religion and religious values.

Redmond Reel Spiel Report – Mickey Mouse Monopoly
Thursday, December 6, 2007

The second Redmond Reel Spiel screening was a great success. The documentary Mickey Mouse Monopoly was an unsettling look at the Disney corporation. 20% of the audience rated the film as excellent. 60% of the audience rated the film as good and 20% of the audience rated the film as fair. No one had heard of this documentary film prior to screening. Another top rate discussion closed the door on our December screening.
Survey Comments
This opened my eyes to the censorship and portrayal of innocence that Disney creates. Also, it raises the question of what we are telling younger people. For example, my sister is 8 and she is self conscious because she wants to be like the “normal pretty princess.” This can cause corruption. I’m glad I saw this movie to educate myself on this topic for future reference.
These people are very negative. Why would you spend your time putting down Disney? I never noticed a lot of these points. I don’t think I was ever that influenced by Disney, but these are all slightly older movies. They did make some pretty good points though. There are many stereotypes and subliminal messages in some of these films.
Interesting theories on racism and sexism in Disney films. I have never thought of these aspects in these films. I don’t think that the films really influence children on matters of sex and racism because a young child isn’t going to understand that these are stereotypes.
I had never noticed this aspect and the hidden ideas portrayed in Disney films. Now seeing the explanations given by various people in reference to the themes, I can really understand and see the racism and sexism in these films. It is really mind opening and mind blowing in terms of how much of an effect this movie has.
This film was great. It could open a lot of oblivious peoples’ minds to the truth about Disney. I already knew Disney had many hidden meanings about gender. But this movie showed me the racist undertones in Disney films. Even though this is known by so many people, Disney still won’t change.
Comparing this film to the last one we watched, this one was educational and contained limited violence. It still dealt with major issues in today’s society. In this case, it was violence. I always thought that Disney films were ones with happy endings and ones that were suitable for children to watch. I would have never thought that a children’s film could be so racist and “improper”. It really changed my mind about certain things, especially how media and advertising affect those who are our age or younger which is why I would recommend this film to those who are our age.