Directed by: Guillermo del Toro
Released: 2006
Country: Mexico, Spain
Genres: Fantasy, Drama, War
Main cast: Ivana Baquero, Sergi Lopez, Maribel Verdú, Doug Jones, Adriana Gil, Alex Angulo, Roger Casamajor, Pablo Adán, Federico Luppi
Rating: 5 out of 5
Review
Pan's Labyrinth. A movie where reality and fantasy is intertwined, a tale of good vs evil, a tale of fantasy, of triumph, of horror, of dark reality. It's something too beautiful, too excellent and a movie as excellent as this one is perhaps rarely seen. I think I'm slightly exaggerating, but if it is not among the best movies of all time, it certainly ranks as the best film of 2006.
''Pan's Labyrinth'' mixes the reality and fantasy, harsh real world and the dark fantasy, and awaits a fairytale world where our heroine belongs in fact. At the beginning of the film, the narrator tells us that centuries ago, the Princess of the underworld had escaped in order to learn about the human world. Blinded by the sunlight that erases her memory, she falls ill and dies. But her father, the king, believes that his beloved daughter will return to him one day.
Then the story shifts to Spain, 1944. The Civil War has ended, but still the rebels are hiding, and will anytime face the Fascists.
Ofelia is a young girl who is an avid reader of fairytales. Her mother, Carmen, is pregnant, and they are traveling to her stepfather, a Fascist captain. Carmen insists that Ofelia should refer to the Captain as her father, as he has done a lot for them.
But after reaching the countryside, Ofelia is sad. Everything is new, and she can never accept the unpleasant Captain as her father. One night, Ofelia notices an insect, who she instantly believes to be a fairy. She follows the fairy to a labyrinth, and there is a big hole in the ground, and there is a staircase that leads under the ground. She goes down the staircase, and there she is met by a faun (according to Wikipedia: The faun (Latin: faunus, Ancient Greek: φαῦνος, phaunos) is a rustic forest god or goddess (genii) of Roman mythology often associated with enchanted woods and the Greek god Pan and his satyrs.) The faun tells her that she is not the daughter of a human, she is in fact, the Princess, and in order to prove that she is the Princess and in order to return to the fairytale world, she needs to complete three tasks before the full moon is seen. Ofelia returns to the real world, and from then on, she works hard to complete the tasks, and besides this, she tries hard to protect her mother and the unborn baby.
The Captain is the evil antagonist of the film and I started hating the character. He is merciless, cruel and heartless. And his deeds, and the things he does in the film, oh, they are utterly terrible.
Ofelia befriends the maidservant Mercedes (Maribel Verdu), who has a secret of her own, that she and the family doctor have been helping the rebels secretly. Her own brother, Pedro, is himself a rebel. After Ofelia, the character for whom I really felt sympathy and likeness is Mercedes.
The reality, fantasy, and fairytale are mixed in this film. None of them are subplots. They are all the essential parts of the story. While we see Ofelia trying to protect her mother and the unborn child, to her protection of herself from the stepfather who hates her, to her constant desire to complete the tasks and return to the fairytale world, they are all the main story. But one of the basic things of this film is the good vs evil matter, that how the fascist Captain is cruel and heartless, and his tortures, and how good people in the story face the evil.
The most striking thing of this film is the cinematography by Guillermo Navarro. The cinematography and overall looks of this film is so beautiful. The film is a real visual treat with the darkness, and occasionally the color blue is the main color, and so the credits for dark and beautiful looks of this film easily goes to the wonderful work of cinematography.
Similarly, the screenplay is wonderful, and the Guillermo del Toro's direction is similarly amazing. The other things of this film that deserves special praises are almost every other thing, because this is a beautiful, excellent film. The sound, makeups, costumes- it would become a really long review to describe all these excellent elements of this film individually.
The star of the movie is Ivana Baquero, a young actress who gives such a powerful and intense performance. Baquero gives one of the most excellent performances ever given by a young actress, and I'm not exgrarating. The nervous, innocent character is brought to life by Ivana Baquero.
Sergi Lopez is similarly excellent in his role as the evil antagonist of the film, giving a talented performance making us hating the character. I also liked Maribel Verdú, playing the maid who hates working there and is secretly helping the rebels. As the goodhearted doctor Alex Angulo is wonderful.
This one is a beautiful film, and maybe one of the most darkest, sweetest, beautiful fantasy films ever made. But however Alice in Wonderlandish the film may sound, there are scenes of brutal tortures and reality which make it a film unsuitable for pre-teens, and this film is absolutely not for children. This one is both a visual treat, and an emotional journey from the beginning to the end, making it a must-watch and a masterpiece, a classic.
5 out of 5
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