Pan's Labyrinth (2006)

Director: Guillermo del Toro
Cast: Ivana Baquero, Sergi Lopoez, Maribel Verdu

Pan's Labyrinth is an original Spanish film that takes a fairy tale and puts it into adult context to teach lessons about cruelty, hope, and compassion. Although the movie portrays a child's interactions with fairies and fauns, and the story has every aspect of a fairy tale, it is definitely not a movie for kids, but rather a very thoughtful and deep cinematic experience with a meaningful message.

Pan's Labyrinth takes place during the Spanish Civil War. Ivana Baquero plays Ofelia, an 11-year-old girl who has gone with her pregnant mother to live with her ruthlessly vicious stepfather. Every aspect of this life is full of death and terror. Captain Vidal, the stepfather, is using Ofelia's mother to bear him a son, just to preserve his family name. He treats both mother and daughter just as cruelly as his other sevants. However, this harsh existence is only one aspect of Ofelia's life. The other one takes place on a separate plane of reality, perhaps visible to others, or perhaps merely as a figment of the girl's wandering imagination. During her stay at the Captain's home, Ofelia is guided by a mythical fairy and a faun who speaks poetically about her expected return and the forsaken destiny that awaits her in the mysterious labyrinth behind the Captain's mansion. As in the common fairy tale, Ofelia is given several assignments that introduce difficult obstacles that she must overcome.

Certain characters are undoubtedly good or evil and they strengthen each opposing side of the story, but throughout the film the faun remains enigmatic. Moving easily between the two realms, he is not attempting to persuade Ofelia to take one path or another, but rather reminding her of her ability to choose.

Pan's Labyrinth is about contrast. Real or imaginary, good or evil, these are themes of the film. The world of the humans in a time of desperation plays beautifully against the world of Ofelia's imagination, which is no more benign than the harsh reality she confronts every day. The way in which the tasks and obstacles are proposed to Ofelia are highly relevant to decisions she must make in reality, and as Ofelia realizes that one must be sacrificed to obtain the other, the challenge for her to choose between the two paths turns out to be the most difficult obstacle of all.

The visual style of Pan's Labyrinth is yet another aspect of the film that sets it far apart from other fantasy films. The color palette, limited to drab greens and greys, helps convey the listlessness of this crumbling world. The fantasy world of the faun is portrayed beautifully, with fluid animation of the bizarrely designed creatures and sudden flashes of vibrance amidst the gloom. Yet the world of the faun is certainly as nightmarish as Ofelia's real, everyday life, and the creatures who inhabit it are each terryfying, though in a completley different way.

The acting is perfectly done and each of the characters conveyed the right emotions to me, despite them speaking in a foreign language.

Each scene is expertly shot, and the unrealistic sequences in the movie are there exclusivly to contribute to the stylized feel. Social behavior and personal choices are major themes, but the film is so deep that no review can adequately capture the meaning, it must be experienced first hand.

-Jack Lewers
Rating---9.75