Overrated and I'll Explain Why

Rating: 3/10 (18 January 2007)

I can understand why so many critics have been swept away by this contrasting tale of a brutal regime and the lovely but parallel dangerous fantasy world imagined by our young girl heroine. It's a "pretty" film balancing the real world against a not overly-CGIed imaginary one. But here's the crux of the problem: What is the point of this film? What deeper and interesting issues can the audience explore through the vision of the director and his story? My response: None. A simple tale and a simple vision of escaping from a desperate reality. We have the extreme visually graphic brutality of the general against many softer feminine elements (and virtuous feminine strength shown over and over again). So, good versus evil? A young girl's fantasy dashed? The "clever" blurring of her fantasy vs. reality? Nice touches that don't amount to anything deeper or more meaningful.
On another note, I found the brutal elements too disgusting to watch and again wondered what was the point? A vicious villain's villain, yes. Geez, I never would have imagined that a man could be so cruel for no apparent reason than the absolute drive to conquer and dominate. That was some learning experience.