Fairy tales are often cautionary stories told to children with the purpose of frightening them in their instruction. How twisted and perverted they actually are tends to go unnoticed it seems to me, and it is not until maturation that the severity of the implications of these tales become fully realized. Guillermo del Toro's directorial awareness developed in the same way that his understanding of the world matured, the result being his sensational Pan's Labyrinth. With a sharper eye he has taken the clay of all of the stories of princesses, monsters, and naughty children that don't do what they are told, and has sculpted something of his own, much more adult, and all the better because of it.
His heroine is Ofelia, a young girl, but not so young that she should have her nose buried in fairy tale books--which she does--who, with her mother who has recently married a captain of the army, moves out to the forest with a convoy to fight guerrilla fighters. The time is 1944, and Ofelia's stepfather is ruthless Spanish fascist whose draconian methods fall along the lines of "shoot now, ask questions later...if at all" to which he is expert. Ofelia, the daughter of a tailor, and not at all used to living in house full of soldiers can only find solace in her story books, which seem to take on something of a mind of their own.
The large house is built next to a labyrinth and a winding stairwell which leads to a deep pit, ancient and forgotten. A shape shifting fairy leads Ofelia down the stair where she is met by a faun. Smelling of earth, seven feet tall, and with liquid, alien eyes, this creature (who, according to the director is not actually Pan) is frightening, mystic, and not at all trustworthy, but Ofelia believes him when he tells her that she is the Princess Mauna incarnate. She is set with the instruction to complete three tasks by the full moon in order to claim her crown.
The tasks unfold with curious similitude to the events transpiring involving Captain Vidal, her sick, pregnant mother, and the fight between the soldiers and the guerrillas. It is a political fable wrapped in the guise of a fairy tale, and it is dazzling. The world in which del Toro lives is one far beyond most other modern film makers and will leave most movie goers in wonderment at their own lack of imagination. The creatures in the film are a mix of live action and CGI, though I wish desperately it had only been the former; the graphics are already becoming dated. It does not diminish their power, though. The monsters and animals are unlike anything that I have ever seen, nor would I probably ever have conceived. They are thoughts stemming from a twisted brain who blends nightmare and reality in his everyday life. The result of this is that it becomes hard to distinguish what is real and what is all in Ofelia's mind. How much is her simply coping with a horrific reality, and how much could be blamed on the underground kingdom over which she lives? One could make a case for both theories, and both would be irrelevant. To argue a fairy tale's validity seems like a pointless endeavor to me.
This film was very popular in the critics' circles when in first appeared at the Cannes Film Festival, and subsequently enjoyed a large public following, which is exciting to know, considering it is an art house, foreign film, but that speaks volumes to the execution of this genius idea. Superb sets--beyond superb, exquisite--powerful acting, incredible makeup, and a bloody, horrifying, and very engaging narrative blends to create a beautiful art form. A proud addition to Mexican film.
4/4
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