Film Even the Oldest of Rules are subject to question.
Guillermo Del Toro is not everyone's cup of tea, and his juxtaposition of graphic human cruelty with fantasy can be hard to get past. But he tends to do it with purpose.
Ofelia is a young girl whose mother married Spanish fascist Captain Vidal, who wants a son from his wife and runs a mill outpost devoted to stomping out guerrilla rebels. Ofelia starts to uncover a fantasy realm asserting she is the lost child from her favorite fairy tale and that she must take steps to return home.
The most powerful theme the film offers that justifies its split narrative of fantasy and the mundane is the question of obedience. One of the film's main aims appears to be excoriating the mentality of Just Following Orders by showing a world where even ancient faerie logic, which is famously bound by rules, ought to be questioned, and where breaking the rules of a fairy tale can win the day—a stark reversal from any old story. As we see good people fighting truly monstrous fascism and achieving honor and integrity by refusing to follow orders, we also see a deconstruction of a classic fairy tale where the magical rules Ofelia is bound to might not be worth following in the end. It's an interesting metaphor to take something unreal where rules are assumed and to deconstruct that in the service of condemning a real mentality where rules are assumed. Both stories are compelling, with the cruelty of Captain Vidal carrying the film as a heavy source of tension, and the good characters truly make you hope nothing bad (or nothing overly bad, given the circumstances) will happen to them.
The fantasy segments do a feel a little less prominent next to the mundane ones, but what we get is memorable. The standout evocative sequence is the famous Pale Man's banquet—a Tantalus-like figure starves in a room of plenty, surrounded by images of him eating children. He doesn't move at all until the beautiful food he does not eat is taken from his table. A pile of shoes from his victims sits beside him and the man himself has eyeballs he places in his hands, stigmata-like given the chapel-esque look of the chamber. It's an extremely memorable trial or ritual-based faerie horror setup with powerful metaphorical and historical implications and roots in mythology, and the imaginative aspects of the film almost make me want a fully original fantasy journey from Del Toro so we could get more of these kinds of setpieces.
I think this film is far more of a political war/postwar story than a fantasy one, given how the fantasy is used more as a supporting metaphor, but the fantasy segments are still really good and purposeful in telling the audience to really never take authority for granted.
Film One of the best fantasy films ever.
Guillermo Del Toro is my favorite film director who's still alive. While he is celebrated by geeks for his fun popcorn movies like Hellboy and Pacific Rim, it is his spanish language dark fantasy films that won me over and made me fall in love with his work.
Pan's Labyrinth is almost certainly his best and most sophisticated film, and rightly deserves its critical acclaim.
The film's plot is thoroughly fantastical, with fauns, mandrakes, horrible demons, giant frogs, tests of character, etc. Not only that, but it's not just any kind of fantasy. This is DARK fantasy, a genre that is woefully under-represented in cinema. It is frightening, oppressive, and morbid, but remains beautiful. The prosthetics, special effects, CGI, costumes, etc are incredible and extremely convincing, making it a gorgeous film.
But what really makes Pan's Labyrinth shine, and elevates it from simply just another horror/fantasy flick and into a legitimately great drama is the backbone of the spanish civil war that frames the whole story. As horrible as all the things Ofelia suffers through are, the horrific cruelty of Captain Vidal, and the very real, human horrors of the war trumps them all. This ends up giving the film an immense narrative weight that is so lacking in most fantasy movies, it grounds the story and permits the viewer to become attached to these characters in a way they otherwise wouldn't.
All of the actors in this film are great; I especially have to congratulate Sergi Lopez for his unforgettably chilling and mechanical performance of Captain Vidal.
Overall Pan's Labyrinth succeeds in pretty much every area and is a must-view for any fan of fantasy, as it brings the genre to a height it very rarely achieves.
Film This film is gross and confusing
I mean... UGH.
Someone's face gets smashed in by a bottle early-on, and only goes downhill from there.
Imagine if someone mixed up Schindler's List and Alice in Wonderland together into one film. That would be rather foolish and perverted maddening-of-the-senses wouldn't it? Yet that's Pan's Labyrinth for you!
Seriously, who is the target audience for this? WHO?
It alienates people who want a fantasy/adventure story because it keeps jumping back to a reality where the human heart is at its very darkest with confrontations with fascists and torture scenes. Then it manages to alienate those who want a gritty and serious depiction of a war film, because it keeps jumping back into a children's fairy-tale with magical creatures.
WHO green-lighted this? Its not suitable for children or adults. Who am I supposed to recommend this film to!?
Film My favourite film
Pan's Labyrinth is my favourite film.
Guillermo del Toro's masterpiece tells the story of Ofelia, a young girl in Civil War era Spain. She is told by a mystical faun that she is the daughter of the King of the Underworld, and must complete 3 deadly tasks to prove her worth as his daughter.
The film constantly shifts between a gorgeous dark fantasy (my favourite parts of the film) and a brutal war film, both immensely enjoyable. The plot is gripping and drips with allegory that subtly enhances the film without taking the focus away from telling a good story. Captain Vidal, the main antagonist, is an easily hateable and threatening figure that makes for a memorable villain. The subplot of the rebellion, involving the badass Mercedes (played brilliantly by Maribel Verdú), is enjoyable and ties well into the main plot.
The acting in this film is amazing. From Ivana Baquero's curious and headstrong Ofelia, to Sergi Lopez's menacing Captain Vidal, to Doug Jones and Pablo Adán as the mysterious Faun, all the performances contribute to making this film into the masterwork it is. Doug Jones is also absolutely terrifying as the Pale Man, helping create one of the film's most memorable scenes.
The special effects and set designs are what truly make this film shine. They immerse you into the beautiful yet dangerous world that del Toro has created; from the brutal military camp to the wonderful and terrifying fantasy worlds, every location is beautifully presented. The dark lighting (which sets the mood without obscuring what is happening) also contribute to the great locations and tone of the film.
The designs of the 'monsters' are my favourite part of the film. While I agree that the Pale Man is amazing (and nightmare inducing), my favourite is the Faun. He is one of my favourite film characters in general: from his design, which is both scary and (in a strange way) cute, both of which help sell his Ambiguously Evil nature; to the otherworldly physical performance by Jones; to the simultaneously playful, mysterious and threatening vocal performance by Adán; to the overall ambiguity of the intentions of the character; he is always fantastic to watch. The scene where he first meets Ofelia is my favourite scene of any film.
The entire film is in Spanish (a language I don't understand, so I have to watch the film with subtitles) but I barely notice after a few minutes in.
Javier Navarrete's beautiful, yet harrowing score is both the icing and the cherry on top that make this film my favourite, especially the fairy tale leitmotif that helps transform the film into the dark fairy tale it was meant to be.
This film is absolutely amazing and I can certainly recommend it.