Pan's Labyrinth: Review

Every once in a while, a film comes along that is so magical, it reaffirms one's faith in the cinema. Pan's Labyrinth is just that kind of film, a complete triumph of fantastical escapism that stays grounded in the real, physical world despite its dreamlike elements. Guillermo Del Toro's pet project has been heralded by many yet this is a film that it is difficult to praise too much. In fact, with everything it has going for it, it deserves every piece of acclaim one can heap on it. It is a modern fairy tale for adults, one that effortlessly transports us to another time, telling a deeply affecting story that reveals a great deal about childhood imagination yet this is definitely not a film for children: it is dark, violent and at times horrifying but for those adults willing to take its trip, it is as rewarding of a film as 2006 has seen.

Much like his fellow countrymen Alfonso Cuaron's work in Children of Men, Del Toro's vision is miraculous in its completeness, simultaenously drawing up parallel worlds of reality and fantasy with ease. Telling the story of Ofelia, the young Spanish protaganist, Pan's Labyrinth moves briskly between its two worlds that have more in common than one might think. Despite its intention of being a place of escape for Ofelia, her imaginary world is as terrifying and dangerous as the everyday world that she is forced to endure. She accompanies her pregnant mother to a small mill in the Spanish mountains where her new step-father, a commander in the Spanish facist army, awaits their arrival. Her mother is not well, weak from the pregnancy and is unable to properly care for Ofelia. This leaves Ofelia to her own devices and after stumbling upon an ancient labyrinth, she meets Pan, a faun who gives her three tasks. If she is able to complete this jobs, she will rightfully reclaim her place as Princess of the magical kingdom below the labyrinth. It is a credit to Del Toro's writing and directing that it is never clear to the audience whether or not the magical creatures are real or just a figment of Ofelia's imagination. It lends the film a magical feeling that carries it through its just under two hour running time.

Ivana Baquero, who plays Ofelia, contributes a performance that is nothing less than stunning. In recent memory, for child actors only Haley Joel Osment in The Sixth Sense is as wonderful as Baquero is here. Her despair brought on by her real world suffering is palpable. It is never overplayed and the results are heartbreaking. Watching Ofelia being forced to struggle through her everyday life is an exercise in frustration. Unable and unwilling to receive any sort of love from her new step-father, she desperately clings to her mother's presence, praying that she won't be abandoned. Sergi Lopez , who plays Capitan Vidal, Ofelia's step father, is disturbingly evil, without which, the film would lose much of its emotional power. His contributions to the film are vast and cannot be underestimated. Where Ofelia provides the story with its necessary childhood innocence, Vidal is her necessary counterpart, allowing evil to seep into the narrative until it is finally overcome, consumed by sheer magnitude of the horrors that populate the lives of these characters.

Del Toro's blend of realism and fantasy, of politics and fable is astounding. The film seamlessly weaves in the two worlds, never having one overpower the other. While the real world inhabits more screen time, the glimpses of Ofelia's journeys into the alternate plane are so convincing that they wind up staying in the viewers mind as much as the story of 1944 Spain. Both worlds feature breathtaking visual schemes, carefully thought out for maximum effect. A visually dark film, the moments in the real sun light are glorious in their composition and color. Pan's world is wildly imaginative, equally borrowing from Disney's Alice in Wonderland and Jackson's The Lord of the Rings yet never feeling derivative of either. It is wholly original and is a triumphant vision only equaled in 2006 by Cuaron's vision of a futuristic dystopic England.

For those who are not versed in the facist politics that dominated Spain's goverment at this time, consider this a briefing in the tragedies that this ideology leveled on the Spainish people. Pan's Labyrinth ends up working so well because it never allows itself to get weighed down in the explanations of facist policy but rather, effectively presents its core values in simple, blunt ways. It works as well as any other political film this year and seems in ways, eerily similar to the situations facing present day America. With American troops facing uprisings in Iraq, Pan's Labyrinth, with its careful portrayal of Spanish freedom fighters, seems oddly topical, despite all its fantastical elements. Do not enter the theatre expecting complete escapism. There is room for thought here if need be.

Del Toro's film is finally and above all else, vastly entertaining and engaging despite the violence that dominates the film. It is not a light film, its thematically and emotionally dense and the ending packs a wallop but it never feels depressing or downtrodden. Rather, the film ultimately feels life affirming, that there are places for escape from the harsh, unforgiving realities of the world. These places may not always be perfect utopias, but they do allow for people to step away for a little while and live in happyness. Ofelia finds her escape at narrative's end, yet it is not necessarily the place the audience was expecting. However, it is a place of happyness, hope and love, three feelings that Ofelia sorely misses out on in her everyday life. Often times, escapes may not be easy to find or achieve, but maybe, just maybe, one of them is in a darkened theatre, with a bag of popcorn and Pan's Labyrinth projecting on the big screen. That sounds ok to me.

*****