Review 230: Pan's Labyrinth

Pan's Labyrinth is the most disturbing but at the same time the most beautiful fantasy film and of all the films Guillermo del Toro has directed, this has got to be his best so far.

In 1944 fascist Spain, Ofelia (Ivana Baquero) an eight year old girl, fascinated with fairy-tales, is sent along with her pregnant mother Carmen (Ariadna Gil) to live with her new stepfather, the ruthless Captain Vidal. During the night, she meets a fairy who takes her to an old faun in the center of the labyrinth. He tells her she's a princess, but must prove her royalty by surviving three gruesome tasks. If she fails, she will never prove herself to be the the true princess and will never see her real father, the king, again.

The plot is a work of art, it's such a passionate fairy tale about a little girl who is facinated herself by fairy tales. It's a mixture of childhood fantasy and brutal realism, Guillermo del Toro really shows us how harsh it was in post–Civil War Spain. Rebels were hiding in the forest and desperate to survive, while the Spanish Francistas were leading grand lives with dinner parties and little sense of rationing.
It shows how wonderful a fantasy can be and how it can take us away from our difficulties of everyday life: Ofelia's stepfather hates her, her mum is suffering with the pregancy and the fantasy allows her to escape those troubles.  

One of the main themes is the test of character: Ofelia is tested in the tasks she has to do to get back to her kingdom. She's also tested in the final scene. Mercedes, the maid (Maribel Verdú) and Doctor Ferreiro (Álex Angulo) are also tested by having to lead double lives, some of the time there doing the housework and other times their stealing tobacco and food for the rebels. There bravery and commitment to the rebels is constantly tested because if they are found out they will be killed by Vidal's troops. This creates a lot of tension and suspense for the audience who want to side with them. 

Guillermo del Toro's direction is bold, the cinematography is gorgeous and really brings out the beauty of post–Civil War Spain. The special effects are amazing, the graphics for how the insects move are astonishing. The score by Javier Navarrete is beautiful and majestic, the scenery is breathtaking, the make up is rich, the suspense is fantastic, the production design is wonderful (it really shows how glamorous but also how rough living conditions were in that era). The costumes are colourful and as the film progresses the tension keeps notching up.

The acting is beautiful, Ivana Baquero added enormous charm to the film as Ofelia, her inqusitive and child like innocence really touched me, Maribel Verdú is just wonderful as Mercedes, she does a mesmirising job of playing the innocent housekeeper and the patriotic revolutionary. You'd just never suspect she was a rebel. Álex Angulo is also wonderful as Doctor Ferreiro, he's compasionate and wily perfect for playing a doctor who is playing both sides. In fact he reminds of Richard Schiff (The West Wing).

Sergi López is just evil as Captain Vidal, he's got all the nervous ticks of the worst of the James Bond villains we've seen to date. Doug Jones is elusive as the Faun, he beautifully portrays the mystery and darkly comic sides of the character. Ariadna Gil is terrific as Carmen, Ofelia's mother. She's having a bad pregnancy and even though she loves her daughter, the flaw in her character is that she doesn't believe the fairy tales her daughter tells her. And on top of that the rest of the cast is fantastic.

Pan's Labyrinth is a wonderful dark fantasy and an example of how great and influential a director Guillermo del Toro is.

Please comment and subscribe, 5/5.

The Anonymous Critic.