Pan’s Labyrinth

RATED: R for graphic violence and some language.
RUNNING TIME: 120 MINUTES
PLOT: Set in 1940s Spain against the postwar repression of Franco's Spain, a fairy tale that centres on Ofelia, a lonely and dreamy child living with her mother and adoptive father, who is a military officer tasked with 'ridding the area' of rebels. In her loneliness, Ofelia creates a world filled with fantastical creatures and secret destinies. With Fascism at its height, Ofelia must come to terms with her world through a fable of her own creation.
STARS: Ivana Baquero (Ofelia), Sergi Lopez (Captain Vidal), Doug Jones (Pan), Ariadna Gil (Carmen).

Gord Burt 5 Stars

Pan’s Labyrinth is simple, yet magnificent. At the same time as the very grim reality of post-Civil War Spain plays out, a stunning fantasy unfolds. It is not difficult to imagine that Pan’s Labyrinth was adapted from a classic literary work, but every word and action is from Director Guillermo del Toro’s imagination.

Perhaps the film’s greatest accomplishment is the way in which it interweaves Ofelia’s quests with the tale of the Spanish resistance fighters. Both are equally compelling. When one story is being told, we are so involved that we aren’t anxious to return to the other. Many films with dual plots fully invest all their creative energy into one half of the story, causing the other one to flounder.

Fairies lead Ofelia into a stone labyrinth, where she meets the legendary faun Pan, who is extremely well played by an elaborately costumed Doug Jones. Pan reveals to Ofelia that she’s a lost princess and assigns her three tasks to complete to regain her throne, facing everything from a giant toad to a skeletal creature with eyes in his hands.

The set design and special effects, which go hand-in-hand, are impressive. The film is done in washed out grey hues while the dark, dank labyrinth, with its crumbling stone structures, offers sanctuary from the war but offers all new mysteries. CGI effects are used in creating the fairies, the faun, and a few other creatures, but the film does not go overboard and does not seem to have been created on a computer.

The term fairy tale can be used to describe Pan’s Labyrinth, and references to The Wizard of Oz are not out of place. However, parents should not go in with the expectation that this is a kid-friendly movie. This has more in common with the original Brothers Grimm than Disney.

The film refuses to say what exists and what does not. It not only leaves us free to determine how real Ofelia’s world is, it trusts us to make the right decision.

Erin Harde 5 Stars

Never has a movie woven such a beautiful tapestry of imaginative fiction and violent reality. Pan’s Labyrinth mixes fairy tales into a historical setting, which makes the brutality of one and innocence of the other that more powerful.

Yet, there are parallels between the two worlds as a little girl’s imagination creates a universe that allows her to escape the horror of the Spanish Civil War, particularly the inhuman Captain Vidal, her new stepfather. As her mother struggles with a life-threatening pregnancy, Ofelia discovers a labyrinth, and faun who charges her with three tasks.

Meanwhile, insurgents are being hunted by Vidal and his troops. Merciless, Vidal uses shocking methods of torture to illicit information. While the fairy tale, and this is not a fairy tale for children, carries half of the movie, it’s also a reprieve from the grisly acts of war.

The fairy tale scenes are also a marvel to look at, from the metamorphosis of the fairies to the child-eating monster to a giant toad to the grand scene of the underworld at the end. While some of Ofelia’s tasks lead to tension during narrow escapes and foolish mistakes, they are still fantastical and as much an escape for us as her. The dialogue, completely in Spanish, adds to the film’s beauty. Yet, the film is so engrossing it’s easy to forget you’re reading subtitles.

As a wartime movie Pan’s Labyrinth unsurprisingly offers many heroes, and most of them are women. Director Guillermo del Toro’s infuses this movie with strong women, including housekeeper Mercedes, Ofelia’s mother, and of course, Ofelia. Even in her fantasies, she faces constant struggle, yet bravely overcomes unimaginable enemies. She couragesly faces her real-life foes too, but this alternate ending is not so happy. Luckily, we have two conclusions to choose from. Both are haunting and leave images that burn into the mind, a credit to the amazing performances by the entire cast.

Up for a mittful of Oscars, this incredible film is worth every award bestowed and more.