Genrebenders

** spoiler warning **
The nature of this posting contains plot spoilers which may detract from first-time viewers' appreciation of films. Proceed at own risk.

Three recent film which I've enjoyed greatly all add to their appeal by serious ambiguity. They play with or disguise either thematic elements or even the fundamental nature of the story. In one case, a film is revealed about halfway through to actually be a science fiction story, with the revelation taking viewers by surprise. In another case, what appears to be a ghost story is revealed to have logical explanations. In the third case, the film leaves the viewer with lingering doubts about its ambiguities. In all cases, the tension generated by not knowing what is going on, or even what the rules are, adds to the strength of the film.

Volver

Of course, the ghost story which is resolved and revealed through logic, is such a staple as to nearly qualify as a sub-genre of detective or suspense movies. But in the case of Volver, the movie is a character-driven family comic drama which strongly suggests itself to the viewer as magic realism. The revelation that there is no ghost comes slowly and gently, with plenty of clues for the viewer, and the entire plot thread is only one of several in Pedro Almodovar's marvelously realized story.

The Prestige

In The Prestige, the revelation goes in the other direction, as strong science fiction elements are introduced mid-film with only the most cryptic foreshadowing. In this case, the science fictional plot device becomes a major lynch-pin of the film's resolution. But it's really just a means of further escalating the tension between two rival magicians that is the axis of the film. Ultimately, the science fictional element provides a fine demonstration of Clarke's Third Law:

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

Pan's Labyrinth

The final example is the most problematic: Guillermo Del Toro's fantastic Pan's Labyrinth. It's the most problematic because it's the most ambiguous. Did Ofelia really enter a magical world or was it an illusory retreat? The film argues it both ways, but any film is, of course, an illusory retreat.

Still, the power of the fantasy sequences is compelling, and the question of the "secondary reality" of Ofelia's experiences is ultimately moot at film's end when we emerge from the labyrinth back into the real world, as we believe it to be.