Pan's Labrynth

Pan’s Labrynth (2006)

On Demand, Seattle, WA

October 04, 2007

**** / ****

Pan’s Labrynth is a grand, well-told fairy tale film that perfectly captures the grandiosity of a child’s imagination. It is also one of the best films of 2006.

Set in war torn Spain circa 1944, Pan’s paints a bleak and harsh portrait of life during a difficult period. However, rather than tell its story with overarching commentary Pan’s focuses instead on the daily life and imagination of a little girl named, Ofelia (Ivana Baquero). Relocated with her mother to a remote army base so that mom may be married to a cruel and bitter army captain the inquisitive young girl quickly finds herself at the mercy of her mother’s necessity. Unable to cope, Ofelia fades like a flower into a fantasy world she creates to escape her difficult situation.

The antagonist to Ofelia, Captain Vidal (Sergi Lopez) is as hateful as they come. As quick to crush a man’s skull without due cause as he is to shoot a comrade in the back for seeing things in a different light, Vidal is pure evil. Determined that Ofelia’s mother birth him a son the captain tolerates Ofelia only as a means to satiate her mother until the boy is born and inevitably leads to the escalation of Ofelia’s dreams from mere diversion to a life and death struggle.

Vidal’s extreme characterization, though an initially unrealistic turn-off, inevitably works in spite of itself. As seen through the eyes of a child the characterization becomes surprisingly effective when the reality of Vidal’s cruelty begins melding with the harsh circumstances of Ofelia’s imagination. It is then that Pan’s Labrynth morphs from interesting tale into a magical and beautiful yet horribly violent and sad personal journey.

As the only way to find purpose and make sense of her life, Ofelia’s imaginary world is a beacon of hope in an otherwise cruel and hopeless real world. Led by a creepy faun whose agenda is held secret until the very end, the fantasies differ from the real world in that they allow Ofelia to choose her own destiny. Presented as a handful of amazingly realized fantasies including an encounter with a decaying mummy man with hands for eyes, a giant toad whose gluttony keeps him trapped inside a tree’s roots and whose belly contains an essential item for Ofelia’s quest, and a final interaction with her spindly guide inside a labrynth these dreams are the essential key to Ofelia’s awakening and the movie’s ultimate success.

These dream sequences, which may or may not be partially real, are intertwined so well with the basic story that at times it is impossible to imagine Ofelia’s life without them. Unlike any child fantasy film I have ever seen, director Guillermo del Toro’s film makes the fantasies more than mere figments of the imagination or means to mentally escape one’s real world predicament. Instead, del Toro effectively makes them as real world as the bombs bursting outside Ofelia’s window and even more important. This twisting and turning of the real with the fantastical is precisely the reason critics and moviegoers are as smitten with this film as I. No doubt, the skill present here is second to none and indeed, Pan’s Labrynth is as good as you’ve heard and possibly better.

Neither uplifting nor depressing, philosophical nor completely devoid of moralizing, Pan’s Labrynth is instead a classically told tale of childhood fantasy that mixes the real with the imaginary in a groundbreaking and engaging manner. Pan’s never makes bold statements but quietly proves its greatness by casting a gentle spell that only the most subtle masterpieces can muster. Understood in those terms and punctuated by brilliant special effects, excellent music by Javier Navarrete, an engaging plot, and fine acting all-around Pan’s Labrynth is simply one of the best films of 2006.

Additional Note: In Spanish with English sub-titles.