"Pan's Labyrinth"**** (out of ****)
It's a cruel world the mother tells the daughter. That is essentially what Guillermo del Toro's "Pan's Labyrinth" (2006) is about.
When "Pan's Labyrinth" was initially released in theatres it was an critical success and an audience favorite, for those with an appetite for foreign language films. It appeared on my own list of the best films of 2006 and I even called it one of the best films of the last decade. It was nominated for six Academy Awards and won three.
I had not seen "Pan's Labyrinth" since seeing it in a movie theatre 12 years ago. I remembered certain visual aspects of the movie and could recall the movie's plot. Seeing the movie again however I noticed things I hadn't before.
The movie takes place in Spain in 1944. The Spanish Civil War is over and fascist dictator Francisco Franco has been in power since 1939. However this has not stopped Captain Vidal (Sergi Lopez) from hunting down leftist as it is believed they are forming an underground resistance.
Capt. Vidal has married Carmen (Ariadna Gil) the widow of a tailor and mother of 11-year old Ofelia (Ivana Baquero). Vidal and Carmen are expecting their first baby. As the movie begins Carmen and Ofelia travel to Vidal's estate, where Carmen will deliver the baby. It is quickly established Ofelia does not like Vidal and even though her mother would like her to call Vidal "father" Ofelia refuses. Instead Ofelia likes to live in the world of books especially fairy tales, which the adults around her say is filling her head with nonsense.
This could have been enough to make an interesting movie. A young girl must adjust to a new life living under the rule of an authoritarian figure, mirroring the circumstances the rest of the country is enduring. This would reinforce the mother's statement to Ofelia that it is a cruel world. But del Toro has something else up his sleeve and turns this story into a very dark fantasy where the lines between reality and fiction become blurred.
Ofelia discovers an underground world where a Faun (played by Doug Jones and voiced by Pablo Adan) informs her she is really Princess Moanna reincarnated. In order to prove she has not been human too long, she must undergo a series of test. If she passes, she can take her rightful place on the throne.
Many interpret "Pan's Labyrinth" as a fairy tale. To an extent it is. What I noticed on a second viewing was this may be a fairy tale but it is a very dark fairy tale. When you hear a story is fairy tale you may think of a bright story, full of good cheer with colorful images and a happy ending. "Pan's Labyrinth" is the opposite. If the real world is a cruel place where terrible things happen and there is "ugliness" all around us, the "fairy tale" in "Pan's Labyrinth" is "ugly" as well. Ofelia faces great danger in this underground world and confronts disturbing images.
I interpret this as saying two things. First, living in a cruel world, one filled with violence, we must find an escape. We escape within our dreams. Our imagination will distract us and make us forget the cruel, miserable world we live in. However, the dark nature of the fairy tale I believe reflects the idea, when we live in a dark, cruel world it tends to influence our dreams and so we dream of disturbing things.
Some have suggested both stories take place in reality. The fairy tale is not Ofelia's escape from the real world. It is really happening. We have two stories going on at once. If that is the case than "Pan's Labyrinth" may be about a constant battle between "innocence" and violence in our world. Personally I tend to view the fairy tale as the act of Ofelia's imagination.
However to focus too much on the delicious, mesmerizing visuals del Toro has offered us is to short change this film's accomplishments. Visually it is stunning but emotionally it is rewarding as well. The cinematography, which won an Academy Award, deserves our praise but so does the performances given by Ivana Baquero and Sergi Lopez. Baquero, who was herself 11 years old at the time, is more than just a child in peril. She is able to combine a child's innocence (there's that word again) with a heroine's sensibilities and makes very mature, adult decisions.
Sergi Lopez, whom prior to this movie appeared in the wonderful "An Affair of Love" (2000) and the Hitchcockian "With A Friend Like Harry..." (2001), hadn't given a performance that would prepare us for the one given here. The only thing I can think of to compare it to for American audiences would be one of those great movie villains found in World War II stories. He truly embodies the "shoot first ask questions later" mentality as perfectly illustrated in one scene. He lacks a shred of empathy which makes him all the more frightening. Perhaps even equal to the creature Ofelia encounters in the underworld. But in Lopez's hand the character isn't a caricature. It is firmly based in reality.
One could also say the previous work of del Toro hadn't prepared audiences he was capable of a film with this depth. His prior credits included "Hellboy" (2004) and "The Devil's Backbone" (2001), which many have compared "Pan's Labyrinth" to, including del Toro. Even with the acclaim del Toro is now receiving with "The Shape of Water" (2017), "Pan's Labyrinth" for me remains his masterpiece.
The movie was also responsible for opening the eyes of American movie fans to the world of Mexican cinema. Along with del Toro two of his contemporaries released movies in the same year, Alfonso Cuaron with "Children of Men" (2006) and Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu who had released "Babel" (2006). All three movies were considered among the year's best.
"Pan's Labyrinth" is a mature film made by a director with a unique vision. Whether or not the movie is "real" or not is immaterial to the human emotional drama we are confronted with in the story. It is not a horror movie in the conventional sense ut the movie does show us the horror of war and the horror of what people are capable of in the name of a political ideology. This "fairy tale" is really a nightmare, a disturbing reminder of the evil that surrounds us. This is a movie that deserves multiple viewings, each offering a new discovery. Guillermo del Toro has outdone himself with this masterpiece.
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