This is a must have for any Blu-ray collection.
Tools:
Send to a friend »
Mexican director Guillermo del Toro is best known to American audiences for his directorial work on "Blade II" and "Hellboy." His earlier work included the films "Mimic" and "Cronos." The higher profile films have been successful and del Toro is currently working with his favorite leading man Ron Pearlman on a sequel to "Hellboy." While the two comic book adaptations have brought the most commercial success for del Toro, his critical success has come through two films in which he served as both writer and director. "El Espinazo del Diablo" (The Devil´s Backbone) and "El Laberinto del Fauno" (Pan´s Labyrinth) are spiritually similar films that combine aspects of fairy tales, mythology and parables. "Pan´s Labyrinth" is a personal film for del Toro and was imagined by the director for over two decades before he finally put his thoughts to celluloid.
I have seen comparisons made regarding "Pan´s Labyrinth" to M. Night Shyamalan´s "The Lady in the Water" and to the big screen adaptation of the Walt Disney film "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe." It has also been compared to the recent "The Bridge to Terabithia." Being familiar with the first two films, the only similarity I see that "Pan´s Labyrinth" shares with "The Lady in the Water" is that it was a personal journey for both films´ directors. Shyamalan had created his story as a bedtime children´s story that is intertwined with mythology and monsters. "Pan´s Labyrinth" could be viewed as such, but is a far more mythical creation set in a wondrous world and not in the pool of an apartment complex. The film does share many similar themes to "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," but I´ve always viewed that Disney film as a commercial picture and "Pan´s Labyrinth" as genuine cinematic artistry.
The film´s antagonist is a little girl named Ofelia and portrayed brilliantly by the eleven year old actress Ivana Baquero. Guillermo del Toro changed the age of the character to fit the actress´s age because of her charm. He chose correctly as young Ivana brings warmth to the role and the important imagination of a child to life. This was not an easy role and it required the young leading lady to crawl through mud and perform a few very physical scenes. She was asked to show numerous emotions and never once failed in conveying genuine emotion. There were times when she was required to show fear, happiness, and sorrow and to be heroic. Regardless of the situation, young Ivana came through with flying colors and I consider this to be one of the finer efforts by a child actor in many, many years.
The plot finds Ofelia traveling with her mother Carmen (Ariadna Gil) late in Carmen´s pregnancy. The two are journeying against doctor´s wishes to allow Carmen´s husband Captain Vidal (Sergi Lopez i Ayats) to welcome his unborn son into the world. Vidal is a ruthless military man who is hell-bent on eradicating rebels against the new Spanish regime of Francisco Franco. Ofelia does not like her new stepfather and refuses to address her as Father. The marriage of Carmen to Vidal appears to have been more out of necessity for Carmen than out of love, but Vidal is a person who has power and an ability to provide for his family. Along the journey, Carmen needs a moment of fresh air and her and Ofelia step out of the car for just a short while. Ofelia walks around in the forest and comes across a creature she believes to be a fairy. Upon returning to the car, the fairy flies behind them as they complete their journey.
Once Ofelia arrives at the military post governed by Vidal, she is defiant against her stepfather, but discovers that the fairy she previously saw has made the trip. The large insect flies in a direction that leads Ofelia to an ancient labyrinth. Before Ofelia can travel deeper into the labyrinth and investigate what may lie within its pathways, she is stopped by Vidal´s personal housemaid, Mercedes (Maribel Verdu) and taken back to the house to wash up and prepare for dinner. The insect again returns that night and shows itself to be the fairy that Ofelia thought it to be. The fairy communicates to Ofelia that it desires for the girl to follow it into the labyrinth. Ofelia leaves the home and follows the Fairy through the twisted walkways of the labyrinth and discovers a stairway that leads down into the earthen floor. There, Ofelia is introduced to a mythical creature called a Faun (Doug Jones).
The faun tells Ofelia that she is actually Princess Moanna and needs to return from the world of humans back to the magical world she left. The faun tells her that to do so, she must follow three specific tasks. The three tasks must be completed before the next full moon and they must be performed to prove to the faun that her essence is pure and that she can return to the lands where she is of royal blood. The faun details the very first task for Ofelia and explains that she must travel to a grand old tree in the forest that suffers from a sickness. The sickness is a gluttonous toad that lives inside of it and whose presence prohibits the tree from being healthy and providing sanctity and shelter to the woodland creatures that depend on the tree. The faun gives Ofelia a magical book and sends her back to the home of Captain Vidal.
The film then moves on to becoming a struggle on two fronts. The first struggle is Ofelia´s imagination and hopes for a happier life leading her to believe the faun´s far fetched story about her being a princess of a land below ground. She does not want to leave her mother and forthcoming baby brother behind, but is tempted to escape the unhappy life under he cruel stepfather´s rule. Ofelia is reluctant at first to take part in the tasks, but slowly completes them. Her child mentality nearly has her fail the second task, but she soon buys completely into the faun´s story. The second front is the struggle between the Spanish rebels and the murderous rule of Captain Vidal. The man slaughters two rabbit hunters on a whim and commits numerous other atrocities against the civilian population as he struggles to usurp the rebellion. His wife and children is a distant second to his desire to become a heralded military commander.
The story takes a little girl into an uncertain and unknown world of mystery. Up until the very end of the film, the viewer is kept unsure as to whether or not the faun is a noble creature of magic or simply an evil beast trying to use a little girl to do his bidding. Both the faun and fairies are disturbing in their presence and are far from beautiful in appearance. The tasks undertaken by the little girl walk the line of morality and from different angles, it could appear that the things she are doing are far from noble. Compared to the horrendous atrocities of Vidal, it is hard to decide whether or not the Faun´s intentions are for the better good as it is hard to gauge the level of cruelty between the killing of innocent rabbit farmers and the destruction of an oversized toad. The film has a dangerous and deadly appeal that provides a thrilling storyline that contains some minor elements of a classic horror film.
The parallel plotlines of Vidal´s relationship between himself and the world around him nicely echo the struggle between Ofelia and her entrance into a world of mythology. The fascist regime that Vidal commands is a harsh existence for just about everybody but himself. His personal doctor and maid both have connections to the forces that desire to end his reign. He is a tyrant king that rivals the cruelest kings in fairy tale literature. In a sense, Ofelia is a princess that can bring an end to his rule and bring just rule to those he represses. She must protect the person that is most dear to her; her mother. However, the parallel journey of Ofelia finds her mother repressing her and her desire to discover what the faun tempts her with. She must betray her mother to uncover the secret of the labyrinth and learn if she truly is a noble princess who is not a creature of man. Again, credits goes to young Ivana Baquero for her performance.
"Pan´s Labyrinth" is a beautifully conceived and visual picture from Guillermo del Toro. The story comes from his own vivid imagination and he concocts a wondrous fairy tale with monsters, fairies and an ultimate happy ending. Fairy tales and mythical worlds are something that has been lost over the past few generations and films that tackle similar subject matter tend to make their stories too child-friendly or they become lost with spectacle and special effects. "Pan´s Labyrinth" has its share of gorgeous effects, but the film grounds itself in reality and uses the effects to only assist the story to entertain and not provide all of the entertainment by special effect only. The film is a visual tour de force that brings the post-Spanish Civil War era to life and mixes that period together with a convincing magical existence with fairies, fauns and the hideous cannibalistic Pail Man.
Del Toro deserves a tremendous amount of credit for this film, which is wholly his creation. The genesis of the story began as sketches and random writings in his notebooks and over the course of twenty-something years, Guillermo del Toro pieced together a story and a vision for the film. He started to cast his actors before having a script ready and surrounded himself with the people that he thought were best for the roles. Doug Jones is an actor that del Toro has used in the past and although the actor´s lines were dubbed by a Spanish speaking theatre performer, del Toro knew he would handle the physical parts of the roles for both the faun and the Pale Man. He cast Maribel Verdu and Sergi Lopez i Ayats in roles that were against how they were typecast. Everything about "Pan´s Labyrinth" comes from del Toro´s mind and he illustrates with this film that he is one of the more imaginative people making films today.
Average user rating (1-5):