Pan's Labyrinth

Fantasy is often taken for granted in today's movies. Nearly all the popular kids films are full of fantasy, yet they have become diluted into adolescent eye candy. Yet when fantasy gets into the hands of someone who knows how invaluable the stories can be, it could be both magical, yet horrifying.

Guillermo Del Torro's "Pan's Labyrinth" is perhaps the best fantasy film ever made, it blends both the horrors and magic of a fantasy world with those of the horrors of a real one.

The film takes place in Spain just after the Spanish Civil War. We are told at the beginning of the film, the war is over yet there are still rebel forces in Spain fighting off the dictatorship. The main character is Ofelia (Ivana Banquero) a little girl who enjoys storybooks, which immerses her in a fantasy world. Ofelia's mother pregnant and has re-married a Spanish captain named Vidal (Sergi Lopez). We find out right away Vidal is a sadistic dictator, he runs a camp which is meant to rub out any remaining rebels in the area. While at the camp Ofelia meets Mercendes (Meribel Verdu) a maid working for Vidal but who is actually a spy for the rebels.

While this story is going on, Ofelia is taken into an alternate one as well, as she soon discovers she may be the reincarnation of a Princess from another world. She receives this information from Pan (Doug Jones), an ancient faun who's duty it is to find the Princess and bring her back to her family. In order for Ofelia to prove she is indeed the long lost Princess, Pan puts her through three challenges, each one is a test of bravery in some way.

It's safe to say "Pan's Labyrinth" is in no way a children's film, Del Torro does not sugarcoat any part of the action going on. Vidal the dictator might bring reminisces of Ralph Feinnes character from "Schindler's List", he is the epitome of evil. The fantasy world isn't any safe haven for Ofelia either, each trial she faces, she is risking her life, most memorably running from a child killing monster who has his eyes in its hands. This creature is also played by Doug Jones and is quite frightening to look at.

What works so well in "Pan's Labyrinth" is how invested we are in both stories, so much is at stake, and never do we sense that any ending to this could be happy. We also don't know what to make of Pan, is he actually trying to help Ofelia, or is he setting up to betray or trick her, nothing is fully answered until the end.

"Pan's Labyrinth" is also a film about fighting fascism, Del Torro is probably the most knowledgeable filmmaker when it comes to fantasy elements in films, to him the stories mean so much more, they are allegories to what is happening in the real world. The mythical monsters in children's stories always come from somewhere, and fascists were always a target as the monster. The violence in the film doesn't pull any punches, Del Torro doesn't hold anything back in the real world. Yet despite all the hopelessness we sense, it's never quite gloomy, there are always the heroes, and you can tell Del Torro admires the courage of his characters like Mercedes and plucky Ofelia who fight for a better tomorrow. Many people die in this film, but Del Torro shows it isn't in vain.

It had been a few years since I saw "Pan's Labyrinth", when I just recently watched it, I was struck by how new it all seemed. It's a very moving film, something I was emotionally invested in until the very end. What struck me about this film unlike other fantasy films is how real all these characters seem to be. Despite all the fantastical things that was going on, Ofelia always seemed to be grounded in what was happening to her at the moment, it didn't matter if she was against her evil step-father, or a child killing monster, she responded as truthfully to what was around her. "Pan's Labyrinth" feels like it could get away from you at any moment, but it only sucks you in the more you see it.