Pan's Labyrinth (2006)

Rating:

Truly a break from a flood of conventional movies in the previous months, “Pan’s Labyrinth” is refreshingly remarkable and impressive and is such an achievement in filmmaking, easily becoming one of my all time favorites.

In 1944 Spain, Ofelia is brought to a military outpost right in the middle of a forest to join her viciously violent army stepfather, the fascist Captain Vidal. Joining her is her feeble widowed mother now bearing the captain’s son. Faced with her stepfather’s cruel worldview, Ofelia recoils into a magical fairy tale introducing her to a world she is told was once her domain—she’s a princess. Now to reclaim her rightful throne, she must perform a series of daunting tasks that a crafty faun has convinced her to carry out. Hence, the film posts a dichotomy between reality and fantasy that’s aimed at illustrating the uplifting and comforting power of imagination, as well identifying real life’s monsters by confronting fascism in WWII-era Spain.

Children’s imaginations have always fascinated storytellers but rarely have the imaginings of a child been fused into inspiring and creepy perfection as with Guillermo del Toro’s “Pan’s Labyrinth.” That is if we’re taking the happenings here as just a product of the imaginations of the 12-year old girl protagonist. The film creates confusion in the sense that it ends without clearly telling whether all the fantasy characters and events exist only in the imagination of Ofelia, or if she’s the only person aware of all of them. The confusion here is intentional and probably necessary. In the end, no matter how you want to believe things here unfurl, it is emotionally draining.

The clear-cut distinctions between reality and fantasy result to the audience following two sections that don’t interlock keeping them glued the more until the end. Beautifully shot, well written and very well acted, this film is one addition to a growing number of films by Mexican directors making movies that are unconventional thus starting a trend.

© 2007 Jonathan Susvilla