Pan's Labyrinth

Set in 1940’s Spain, Pan’s Labyrinth tells the story of a young girl who travels with her mother to Northern Spain to join her military step-father. Captain Vidal is a brutal and oppressive man who is trying to stamp out any resistance from freedom fighters in the northern hills.

Ofelia and her mother Carmen Vidal try to put a brave face on their loveless world. However as the story progresses, The Captain makes it clear that his only concern is for the unborn son his wife is carrying.

Ofelia, retreats into an imaginary world of princesses, palaces, fauns and fairies. This world of fantasy provides a parallel storyline which interweaves with the main thread of the film, taking us away from the story of war. We are shown this imaginary world through Ofelias eyes as she escapes her sad and violent world into a place of mystery and magic.

Guillermo del Toro has established himself as a creator of violent fantasy with films like Hellboy, Blade II and Mimic. This film is his greatest to date, it combines the fantasy of his earlier films with a more realistic storyline and some excellent acting. He contrasts the backdrop of a violently oppressive fascist regime in Spain and their bloody battle with the resistance, with the wonderfully colourful world of Ofelia’s imagination.
This contrast is what makes the film so fascinating. With every switch from reality to fantasy, Ofelia’s world seems to get even more desperate and violent. The direction is wonderful, you will squirm in your seat if you don’t like to see the brutality of war, however Guillermo del Toro does a good job of changing shots just at the moment when it may get a little to graphic.

All of the actors will be relatively unknown in North America although they have accumulated a great deal of experience in their home countries. The acting is perfect, and it is hard to pick out any standouts. Ofelia was marvelous, centre stage as the girl with the amazing imagination. She really shines especially considering her young age. This role was a little reminiscent of Natalie Portman in ‘Leon’, the strength, fear and innocence being played so well by one so young.

The animation and costumes were incredible. The Faun (Pan) looked great as an earth bound creature of myth the fairies and other CG creatures were nicely done. None of the effects intruded on the action rather they provided the palette for Ofelia’s rich imagination. We especially liked the Pale Man who was played by Doug Jones, he was almost horror-like in his blood thirsty guise.

The cinematography was spot on. Grey’s and washed-out blues were used for war and warm rich colours depicted nature and Ofelia’s imaginary world. The sound too was eerie and cinematic, moving from drama to fable with ease.

In conclusion this was a rich and imaginative film with the story of war and violence explained in an original and creative way. The central characters fantasy showed us escapism and innocence which provided the contrasting emotion to a terrible world of bloodthirsty madness.