Guilermo Del Toro, man of the decade?

Man of the decade? Okay, maybe not. If I were going to be straight up then I’d probably suggest someone such as Denis Mukwege (I suggest you look him up). But in my humble opinion this is the man who from any medium has created the broadest, most eclectic and engaging work over an extended period of time. He may be a fat Mexican; however he is certainly one of the greatest directors of this generation. Perhaps to suggest how good he is would be start with his weakest points, take Blade II; still a highly engaging piece of entertainment, easily transcending both its prequel and sequel. I don’t want to dwell on this though, its best to focus on what makes him great, and I don’t want to do this by simply giving a mini review of each film he’s directed. Neither completely oeuvre nor entertainer Del Toro has been able to transcend the gap between independent and mainstream cinema, often stating that he takes turns making a film for himself and then a film for Hollywood.

If anything the noughties was the decade of the comic book hero and the sequel. Whilst we’ve had three increasingly unfunny Shrek films, three Pirates of the Caribbean films and two frankly depressing Transformers films, The Hellboy series managed to show that to extend a franchise was not merely to sell out to the lowest common denominator. Combining Rasputin, a drunken fishman and a Northern Irish troll to superbly entertaining effect Del Toro produced two films which were genuinely funny and highly entertaining. To my mind these are the best comic book adaptations, the closest contender is inevitably Batman and, although I genuinely like Christopher Nolan’s films, they are a little too earnest and over the top for the genre. I love films which create their own worlds; however I feel a more admirable narrative is one that creates a world of exotic and bemusing characters and places them on our world in a way which seems plausible: something apparent in each of Del Toro’s five directorial works.

Surely by now, if you’re unaware of his work, you must be questioning why such a person could be named man of the decade. The answer to this is Pans Labyrinth, the 2006 fantasy set in post civil war Spain which I have no hesitation in naming the film of the decade. It is completely majestic, magical, engaging, engrossing and practically unflawed; a complete cinematic experience. It not only built on 2001’s informal prequel the Devil Backbone but transcended it. By placing the magical into intense human suffering; Del Toro used his limitless imagination to create a magical allegory which surprised, shocked and created thought in equal measure. It is not just his talent that makes Del Toro so special, it is his vision and his knowledge of what makes cinema such an engaging experience. What is also extraordinary is the way in which both sides of the coin are completely representative of this visionary director He may not have created much subversion with a film such as Hellboy but he knows how to entertain in a way which doesn’t boil down to simply emptying the pockets of fourteen year olds. On the other hand Pans Labyrinth and the Devils Backbone present cinema at its subversive best, mind altering and undeniably engaging. Perhaps I haven’t spent long enough gushing over Pans Labyrinth to merit its place as best film of the decade, however I would challenge you to simply watch it again, or perhaps for the first time and see if you can disagree. So, well done Guillermo; you’re my man of the decade, let’s see what you can do with the Hobbit.

P.S. apologies to Radiohead, Paul Thomas Anderson and a host of others.

By Sam