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Synopsis: During the Spanish civil war a young girl discovers a secret world of fantasy where she escapes the harsh reality that surrounds her.

Technical Details

Title Pan’s Labyrinth (El Laberinto del Fauno) Country Mexico, Spain, United States Genre Drama, Fantasy Language Spanish Director Guillermo Del Toro Cast Ivana Baquero, Sergi López, Maribel Verdú, Doug Jones Year 2006     My Rating More Info IMDB Buy Amazon

Review

Young Ofelia just moved in with her new stepfather, Captain Vidal, a cruel official of the Spanish army. Her mother is pregnant with the Captain’s son and due to complications with the pregnancy needs to stay in bed at all times, so Ofelia finds herself without much to do besides reading her fairy tales books. Much to her surprise, one night a fairy appears in her room and takes her through a labyrinth and down to a secret underground world. She meets a faun there, and she learns from him that she may be a lost princess and that if she passes three tests her royalty will be confirmed and will be returned to her kingdom to live with her parents the king and the queen. Ofelia wants to believe in all this, since it makes her forget about reality, in which her father is dead and her mother and new little brother may not make it alive, which would leave her alone with her brutal stepfather.

Meanwhile in the real world, Captain Vidal is having difficulties trying to capture a group of rebels that are causing a lot of trouble, while he anxiously awaits the birth of his son, having given instructions to the doctor to do whatever it takes to save the baby, even if that means putting the mother at risk.

Del Toro created a fascinating tale that combines a fantastic world, filled with fairies and monsters, with the real world of violence in Spain during the Civil War period. The special effects and makeup are top of the line, I was particularly impressed by the Pale Man character (played by American actor Doug Jones, who also plays the Faun). The sequence in which the Pale Man goes after Ofelia with his eyes in the palms of his hands is terrifying. There are also several scenes of intense violence, including torture and lots of blood.

This is another one of those movies that, in my opinion, are a must see. As with previous Del Toro’s film The Devil’s Backbone, this movie will not disappoint you.

©2008 by Miguel Grinberg

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