American Cinematographer - January 2007 - 8

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Secret lives motivate the drama in several of this months
featured films.

Labyrinth, a young Span¬
girl escapes the grim realities of World War II by retreat¬
ing to an imaginary world populated by fantastic and fear¬
some creatures, including a towering faun and a faceless,
child-devouring demon with eyeballs in the palms of his
hands. Guillermo Navarro, ASC was tasked with creating
In Guillermo Del Toro's Pan's

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the film's distinct environments, and deserves kudos for

that

making the real-world scenes just as compelling as the
more fanciful settings. During his interview with New York
scribe John Calhoun ("Fear and Fantasy," page 34), Navarro

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spotlights the movie's deeper subtext: "This is a movie that makes a very strong political
statement and is also a mirror of how the world is now. But by creating parallel narratives
of a fantasy world and a reality world, we could tell a political story without it coming across
like a pamphlet. It's a fairy tale with ultimate consequences, and not the nice fairy-tale
ending."
The consequences in The Good Shepherd arise from the covert activities of its main
character, Edward Wilson (Matt Damon), a reluctant spymaster who rises to prominence in
the newly formed Central Intelligence Agency. In his interrogation of Robert Richardson,
ASC ("Ghost in the Machine," page 48), ACcorrespondent John Pavlus reveals that the cine¬
matographer abandoned several of his trademark techniques - including hot key lights and
ultra-kinetic camera moves - to "illuminate with darkness" and create "clinical, dispas¬
sionate" compositions that were partially inspired by The Parallax View, The Conversation,
the films of Jean-Pierre Melville and the still photos of Walker Evans. Add to the mix
Richardson's collaboration with director Robert De Niro, who also acts in the film, and you
have a compelling case for further surveillance.
Hidden agendas also lurk beneath the suburban surfaces of Little Children, shot by
Antonio Calvache, AEC. In dramatizing the plights of the film's angst-filled characters,
Calvache sought to lend the story's seemingly placid settings an aura of ominous portent.
The visual style fashioned by Calvache and director Todd Field was influenced by the photos
of Gregory Crewdson, which the cinematographer describes as "familiar scenes [that] have
some kind of twisted element." Calvache reveals more of the duo's strategies in a chat with
the indefatigable Mr. Calhoun ("Suburban Unrest," page 72).
The mysterious Mayan empire serves as an eerie, awe-inspiring backdrop in Mel
Gibson's Apocalypto, shot by Dean Semler, ASC, ACS. Shooting in the jungles of Veracruz,
Mexico, and other locations, Semler put Panavision, Arri and Ikonoskop cameras through
some extremely rigorous paces. European correspondent Benjamin B got the full scoop on
the epic adventures that unfolded both in front of and behind the camera ("A Great Escape,"
page 60).
It's also our great pleasure to report that the recipient of this year's ASC Lifetime
Achievement Award is Society stalwart Allen Daviau. A brilliant cinematographer, a font of
film knowledge and a longtime friend to this magazine, Allen is the living embodiment of
the ASC's ideals. We applaud his artistry with a comprehensive career retrospective penned
by David E. Williams ("A Movie Buff's Moment," page 84).

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American Cinematographer - January 2007

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - January 2007