Pan's Labyrinth

Guillermo del Toro
2006

Pan's Labyrinth provides a nice companion piece to del Toro's The Devil's Backbone (2001) in its use of supernatural and fantastic elements set squarely within the milieu Spain's civil war. While Backbone's ghostly chills reflected the visceral horrors of the war, del Toro's new offering presents a fascist hell bearable by only the strongest spirt. This grim coming of age is loaded with shades of "Alice in Wonderland" and contains a healthy dose of special effects, yet no matter how nightmarish our little heroine's fantastic double-life grows, the harsh reality of Franco's regime is far worse.

Young Ofelia is carted off to the country along with her pregnant mother, Carmen, to the home of mom's new fiance, the tyrannical Captain Vidal. Understandably-bummed Ofelia has trouble getting along with her menacing step-dad, who treats her mother as little more than an heir-factory, better seen than heard. Solace comes in the form of kindly, underground rebel house-marm Mercedes and the discovery of an old stone grotto housing a mystical Faun who kindly informs Ofelia she is the rightful blood princess of a glorious underkingdom. To prove her mettle, the little girl must complete three otherworldly tasks before the moon is full, while simultaneously navigating an oppressive household and a country at war.

The visual effects qualities used are interesting and admirable but far from brilliant. The CGI bugs/fairies look behind the times in terms of technical rendering and the Faun's aesthetic is too whimsical for the film's dark tone, too cuddly to be appropriately creepy. The most successful effect comes from the child-eating "Pale Man" character, a faceless ghoul with saggy skin and skeletal legs.

Its an ambitious film to say the least, clearly more than a mere effects picture, however at times the real life drama between fascists and guerillas seems to inappropriately take precedence over Ofelia's point of view. Simply put, Pan's Labyrinth needs more Pan. With a minimum amount of fantasy setpieces, and a gripping albeit sprawling war yarn the film ends up with two excellent plots competing disharmoniously against each other. Of course del Toro is no greenhorn, and his experience and passion come through during even the most tenuous moments. Its an imperfect picture, but a worthy accomplishment nonetheless.

Review by Brett A. Scieszka