{Laberinto del fauno, El}
 --- Subtitled --- From acclaimed director Guillermo Del Toro (Blade II, Hellboy) comes a dark fantasy/thriller about a young girl who enters a mysterious labyrinth and finds herself at the center of a ferocious battle between Good and Evil. Storyline: In 1944 fascist Spain, a girl, fascinated with fairy-tales, is sent along with her pregnant mother to live with her new stepfather, a ruthless captain of the Spanish army. During the night, she meets a fairy who takes her to an old faun in the center of the labyrinth. He tells her she's a princess, but must prove her royalty by surviving three gruesome tasks. If she fails, she will never prove herself to be the the true princess and will never see her real father, the king, again. Written by Tim Reviewer's Note: Reviewed by J.C. Ribera on February 22, 2008 -- Guillermo del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth (Actually, "the faun's labyrinth" from the Spanish) is one of those movies I'd call perfect. It's a fantasy movie, a realistic movie, it's a children's movie, an adult movie, a psychological thriller, a movie about war and a fairy tale, a horror movie, a beautiful movie. Gorgeously photographed, powerfully disturbing, this is one of those movies that to me, achieves what movies should do: Tell a story and suck you in into their world as most no other art form can. But this movie is not for everybody. Many audiences, having been attracted by the promotion for it showing the fairy tale aspects, would end up finding themselves taken from behind and propelled into a nightmare world that was far too real and upsetting. You see, the best way to describe this movie to an unsuspecting patron would be to say Schindler's List meets the Bridge to Terabithia. The movie deals with the story of a little girl who finds herself in the middle of a real life nightmare while seeking a dreamy and heavenly world. The story is set in northern Spain as the War in the rest of Europe was about to end. Spain had had a 3 year civil war that when seen in context was like the prelude or prequel to the World War that would immediately envelope the rest of Europe just after the fascist forces of Francisco Franco came to power in Spain in 1939. Franco was an ally of Adolph Hitler (Germany's Air Forces had given air support to his campaign) but he wisely kept "out" of the action in Europe, consolidating his rule, and thus smartly ensuring his would be the only surviving fascist regime after WWII ended. In such days thus starts the movie's story in which the defeated Republican followers live in a fascist Spain waiting for the War in Europe to end and wondering if the defeat of Hitler and Mussolini would help change things, because, whereas the rest of Europe is being liberated and the Nazi nightmare being swept away, in Spain, the Fascists actually had won and they managed to stay. It is a world as if the Germans, instead of the Allies, had won WWII and turned it's practices against themselves. And into this world young Ofelia (Ivana Baquero) falls, as she finds her widowed mother marrying a Franco's army captain, carrying his unborn (and extremely expected by him) child, and relocating to the enclave in the hills that he commands trying to squash any remaining pockets of republican "up-risers". There are such things. It's obvious from the start that Capitán Vidal's (Sergi López) only reason of civility to Ofelia and her mother is that he expects his new wife to give him a male child to continue his glorious male military line, and that Ofelia is a nuisance to be ignored. Or worse. Ofelia soon starts to encounter things, magical beings, fairies, and a faun that tell her she's the daughter of a benevolent King from an underground natural world where she soon can return. If she proves herself worthy. Problem is, that all the difficult and sometimes horrific tasks she has to do are not what a proper repressed child of a Falange Captain that is in the middle of a military campaign should be doing, and she will get in trouble. And make no mistake, Capitán Vidal is someone you really don't want to piss off. To the point that one doesn't know what's worse, the magical evil creatures she has to face, or the simple evil terror that her fascist stepfather is. Sometimes supernatural horrors are the easiest ones.. I saw El Laberinto about one year before watching the BD, in a midnight premiere where the Faun himself (Doug Jones) attended and introduced the film. He said it had been one of his two favorite roles. And then the movie started and we were all transported to this magical and at the same time, all too real, world. My companions (and most of the audience I bet) gasped, cringed and hid their faces behind their hands everytime Vidal showed up, and sometimes with the other less life threatening terrors. Captain Vidal is truly one of film's horrific villains, as good as any other recorded on film. To me it was very interesting watching him, as I've know people like him, so let's say I was somewhat desensitized to him and actually relished the excellent performance. But my companions, not being used to such men, wanted to hide under their seats while he was on. The faun creation is fantastic and totally believable, (love the way he'd shake, and waggle his hands), and the camera keeps moving and moving, sucking us deeper into this child's nightmare where we want everything to be right. One watches the movie hoping that everything will come out right, probably as Spaniards that lived the period wished it came out to an end soon so they could live to tell the tale. Spain finally did, but it took many years... All the fairy elements are fabulous and with great originality. There's lots of symbolism, like in an ancient fairy tale, the special effects immaculate, the attention to detail. the atmosphere, the period setting, the forest, the faun's world, Ofelia's world, all set in a very organic way. This is not an easy film because of it's subject matter but it's very rewarding because it makes you think. One of it's interesting aspects is what you as an audience think is happening. Are the magical creatures there, or just the product of the girls imagination? The "real world" is far too real, uncomfortably so. Do we wish the magical world to be real too in contrast to the other horrid world just like we'd think the girl does? The reality is so harsh that some of us want it to be real. Almost like some religious reward after we've suffer life on earth. At one point the film becomes briefly a heaven allegory too. Good men and children must be good, because ultimately that's the only thing we've got. Del Toro in his commentary at one point makes a mostly literal interpretation of the meaning of the fantasy, but like sometimes great works of art do, like books, or songs, and yes, movies, it gets a life of its own which transcends just the intention of the author, and the reader, listener, moviegoer, experiencing it gives something of his own interpretation to them and the work then becomes more than the literal meaning that the author thought of it. Reaching more of an universal level, shaped as much by the perception of the public as the intention of the author. I think this movie achieves it and that's why some people might not stand it while others think is such a great piece of cinema. Uncomfortable cinema, but beautiful at the same time. Some seeing what happens one way, and others seeing it another way. Timeless like a fable. And yet, too close in years as history. If you love fantasy, World War II movies, horror, or just well made films, this is a great film to watch. It's magical and at the same time disturbingly realistic, reminding you this things happened and such men exist. A great piece of Cinema, beautiful and evocative in imagery with originality in it's creatures, a disc with a sharp, all too clear bold image and appropriate enveloping sound, I would recommend it heartily if you like films to be more than just entertainment. And after a quiet evening, watching it, pondering on Ofelia's destiny, while savoring a fine Porto, remember. There are such things. Cast Notes: Ivana Baquero (Ofelia), Sergi López (Captain Vidal), Maribel Verdú (Mercedes), Doug Jones (Fauno / Pale Man), Ariadna Gil (Carmen Vidal), Álex Angulo (Doctor), Manolo Solo (Garcés), César Vea (Serrano), Roger Casamajor (Pedro), Ivan Massagué (El Tarta), Gonzalo Uriarte (Francés), Eusebio Lázaro (Padre), Francisco Vidal (Sacerdote [as Paco Vidal]), Juanjo Cucalón (Alcalde), Lina Mira (Esposa del alcalde). IMDb Rating (07/25/14): 8.3/10 from 354,915 users Top 250: #119 IMDb Rating (01/29/10): 8.4/10 from 138,831 users Top 250: #68
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