"Pan's Labyrinth" is director Guillermo Del Toro's masterpiece. In Spain, he has created several critically acclaimed films such as "The Devil's Backbone." However, in the U.S., he is known more for films like "Hellboy" and "Blade II," and although these are well made movies, they are forgetful in comparison to the magic and beauty of his newest film.
Guillermo Del Toro face to face with a work of his limitless imagination.
"Pan's Labyrinth" takes place in 1944 during the Spanish Civil War and focuses upon a young girl name Ofelia who still believes strongly in fairy tales. Ofelia's father died during the war when she was younger, but now her mother has married a captain of the Spanish army named Vidal and is far into pregnancy with the captain's child. Ofelia's mother, Carmen is forced to travel to his camp being that Vidal believes a child should always be born with the father. However, what the captain really wants is a son to continue his name and blood.
Upon reaching the camp, Ofelia's life changes forever when a "fairy" leads her into a labyrinth where she meets an eight foot tall faun. The faun reveals to her that she is actually the long lost princess of the underworld, and to make it back to her kingdom, she must complete three trials. Ofelia's story is actually only one half of the movie; the other half of the movie focuses upon the war; upon a woman named Mercedes who is a worker in the captain's camp, but is secretly aiding the resistance that Vidal is attempting to suppress.
The Paleman....a true monster in every sense of the word.
This shows that as much as this is a fantasy movie, it is also a brutal and graphic war movie. The trailers make it look like today's "Alice in Wonderland," but it is actually far from it. Younger children should NOT see this movie without parental supervision. It is a very dark movie and at many points depressing. However, its message should be something directed to both children and adults: "Innocence has a power evil cannot imagine." This is a large theme of the film. Ofelia's escape from the brutalities of war through her innocence and belief in fantasy is such a powerful and moving point of the film.
The creature effects in this film are unbelievable and best of all, entirely done through makeup and puppetry. Few aspects of this movie are done through CGI (Computer-Generated Graphics), which makes the fantasy world feel so real and alive. The faun has been beautifully realized from Del Toro's artwork has both a benign and malevolent feel at the same time. Doug Jones, a favorite of Del Toro for donning the costumes, has done three films with Del Toro previously. In "Pan's Labyrinth," he is inside the costume of two creatures: the faun, and the Pale Man. Jones does a magnificent job of bringing these creatures to life through his original actions and movements. As scary as monsters are in the movie such as the Pale Man, the true monster of the movie is Captain Vidal. I have never seen a character portrayed in a film as such evil. Amazing characters such as this are what make "Pan's Labyrinth" the best film of the year.
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