Movie Reviews
If ever there was a movie that catered to the imagination of the barren-minded, “Pan’s Labyrinth” is it. Mexican director Guillermo Del Toro’s film is the stuff recurring nightmares are made of.
“Pan’s Labyrinth” opens with a narration of a legend surrounding the young princess of a mythical world who escaped into our world and was killed by the sun. Her servants have spent years trying to bring her back to her rightful throne.
Cutting ahead to 1944 fascist Spain, the film follows Ofelia, an idealistic 11-year-old who is sent with her mother to live with her step dad, Capitán Vidal, an officer in the fascist regime. Ofelia’s mother, Carmen, is ready to give birth, but the pregnancy puts her through spells of intense sickness. Ofelia begins to worry for her mother’s wellbeing.
On top of this, rebel guerrilla fighters target the base at which Ofelia’s family is living. Capitán Vidal’s wits are tested by moles that are living among his staff and stealing antibiotics and medical supplies for enemy fighters. Vidal’s true self is unearthed, revealing a ruthless, brutal officer interested only in total dominance. This is exercised in a grim scene in which Vidal questions two rabbit hunters about their intentions.
As the strife of the real world unfolds, Ofelia escapes into a fantasy world. An ancient labyrinth on the military base unveils the parallel world of Pan, a large, menacing faun who convinces Ofelia she is this lost princess. In order to return to her world, she must complete three tasks to prove she is the true princess. Ofelia, despaired by the state of the real world, finds hope in the thought of an alternate reality.
“Pan’s Labyrinth” is thrilling, passionate filmmaking, marked unapologetically by the talent of its writer and director. Rotating flawlessly between the realms of reality and fantasy, here’s a film that dares its audience to follow it into the depths of the darkest human emotions, past the barrier of what our minds try to block out and into the same nightmarish horrors that made us afraid of the dark when we were children.
I’d question the validity of the filmmaking to achieve such a thing, but Del Toro’s style is uncompromising. There is no cheating going on here, no cheap thrills or ostentation, but rather the work of a tasteful, enormously talented storyteller.
The story itself is an anomaly to anything I’ve ever seen, but while I watched it, I had the distinct awareness of influences of other filmmakers and other films. A central motif of escape rises. Visually, there’s a sense of homage to “Alice in Wonderland” and “The Wizard of Oz” as Ofelia stumbles innocently into a strange parallel world.
But Del Toro doesn’t stop there; working on the heels of some of the industry’s finest visual masters (Orson Welles, Fritz Lang and Peter Jackson to name a few), Del Toro has the moxie to make “Pan’s Labyrinth” graphic in its violence. Mixing the storytelling style of traditional fairy tales with a tasteful dose of George Romero, Del Toro concocts a story of limitless invention and visual splendor that perpetuates stimulating cinematic images.
For one, “Pan’s Labyrinth” renders every character expendable, but for good, just, and honest reasons. The three tasks Ofelia is to complete require the courage that perhaps only a child can muster and, as a result, take us to bizarre places where we meet horrifying creatures. “Pan's Labyrinth” is, at times, very scary.
But in addition to that, the movie happens to hold a true balance between two important genres of film: it’s both a wonderful children’s fantasy and an intense wartime drama. Neither aspect is winking at the other; they coincide seamlessly.
This is important for too many reasons to list, and it would not be sensible to get so specific. Just know this: there is a level of brutality to “Pan’s Labyrinth” which so counters the preliminary juvenility, that it comes as a terrible shock. Now that I’ve looked back on it, for the end to be as upsetting and hopeful and lasting as it is, the journey there could not have possibly occurred in any other fashion. ****
Note: As is the case with a lot of great movies, the less one knows about “Pan’s Labyrinth” going into it, the better. I supplied a synopsis of the plotline simply because a movie review requires that, but I tried to be vague enough as to entice, not shoo away. “Pan’s Labyrinth” is what we make of it; preconceived notions should be left at the concession stand.