DCA At 20: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon/ Pan's Labyrinth

Dundee Contemporary Arts (DCA) has been open for 20 years. It's a building I visit a lot throughout the year. It's a complex that as well as having two cinema screens, a very good bar and restaurant, they have art galleries and run courses for members of the public. From my own perspective and my love of horror, they have what are called Dundead screenings, of horror or cult films every few weeks, with a four day festival at the beginning of May and often a mini festival of sorts around Halloween.

If Cineworld covers my mainstream 'fix' of cinema, the DCA covers pretty much everything else. They show a mix of classics, mainstream films and perhaps most importantly the so-called art-house and independent films that are often ignored by most multiplex owning companies.

Look at the following list of films: Let The Right One In, Battle Royale, It's A Wonderful Life, Green Room, Bone Tomahawk, A Field In England, The Endless, The Void, Cold In July, Julia's Eyes, Senna, The Invisible Man, King Kong, The Red Turtle, Train To Busan. That's just a sample of the films that over the 20 years it has been open, I've seen on a cinema screen at the DCA. Battle Royale was, as far as I can recall, the first film I saw there. The DCA kindly invited me to the press screening of Sunshine On Leith when it was held there. They even used me as a model of sorts for last year's Dundead piece in the local newspaper (the horror!).

As part of their celebrations, the DCA is bringing back some of the films they have shown over the past 20 years. I'm sure the choices weren't easy ones to make. Over the next year in fact, they are inviting their audience to suggest films to bring back to the sceen from the past 20 years.

I'm already compiling a list. It will be a long one.

Two of the films they brought back to screen, were Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Pan's Labyrinth. Both have significance to me in different ways and there was no way I was going to pass on them.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was a film I first saw at the DCA back on its cinema release. I loved it. It's a brilliant film, with a terrific story at its heart of love, loss and revenge. The cast, headed by Chow Yun Fat, Michelle Yeoh and Zhang Ziyi are first rate. The film is visually stunning, thanks to cinematographer Peter Pau. The script is superb, the music stunning and the direction from Ang Lee is great.

But at the time, what made the headlines were the martial arts fight scenes, choreographed by Yuen Wo Ping and they are jaw dropping at times. The first fight sets the tone, but the fight between Yeoh and Ziyi, using weapons is one of the best one-on-one fights I have ever seen. Even now, it is still incredible. Perhaps the most surprising thing regarding the stunts and fight scenes is the treetop sequence which in this day of CGI everywhere is still amazing. 

Seeing it again after a number of years, if anything it has grown in my estimation, is when you focus on the actual story. In 2000 the fight scenes possibly overshadowed other strengths the film had. Looked at now you can see them. The story is very well told and the performances are impressive.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon amazed me in 2000. In 2019, it still does.

Pan's Labyrinth (2006)

And then there is Pan's Labyrinth.

In 2018, Guillermo del Toro won best director and his film, The Shape Of Water won best film. It was a popular choice and it is an truly stunning film. 

And to think it's not even del Toro's best film. 

Pan's Labyrinth absolutely blew me away when I saw it in 2006. The story of a young girl who escapes into a fantasy world to carry out a series of tasks at the behest of a Faun, while in the real world, the violence of the Spanish civil war goes on, it is a film that works on so many levels. At it's heart is a truly stunning performance from Ivana Baquero as Ofelia, the young girl. Strong, determined, yet still a child, it is one of the best child performances I have ever seen. There are two other performances that need mentioned. First, is Sergi Lopez who plays the sadistic Captain Vidal who is utterly ruthless in carrying out his duty and also so desperate for a son, he is willing to sacrifice his wife (Ofelia's mother) if need be. It's a truly chilling performance.

Doug Jones has become a regular in del Toro's films, and here he plays two characters, the Faun, who might not be the good creature Ofelia thinks and the truly terrifying Pale Man. Considering he didn't speak Spanish it makes it more remarkable.

With haunting music from Javier Navarrete, stunning cinematography from Guillermo Navarro, impressive make up effects, Pan's Labyrinth (which has Alfonso Cuaron as a producer!) is a film that just gets better every time I see it. As I said, I do still believe it is del Toro's finest film still.

In fact, I'd go further. Personally I think it's a masterpiece.

It's is full of emotion, sadness, heartbreak and yet despite all that, it's a film that lodges in your heart and stays there. The ending will have you welling up.

Since 2006, for me there have been only two films that can sit next to Pan's Labyrinth, Let The Right One In and Tigers Are Not Afraid. 

Seeing it on the cinema screen again just reinforced that. As far as fantasy films go, it's one of the greatest ever made.

It was a hell of a cinema night at the DCA. I look forward to another 20 years of it.

Now if you excuse me, I have a list of films to compile!