Pan's Labyrinth Review

Del Toro’s Refreshing Fairy Tale

Pan’s Labyrinth is a story about a young girl’s conquest to find validation to her beliefs in the fantastical, amidst strife with her evil stepfather. The movie is set in Spain during the Civil war, precisely 1944. Del Toro, known for his work on the Hell Boy series, highlights his use of visual imagery here, as well, utilizing lighting to set the mood and costumes to emphasize the magical world. More importantly, Del Toro provides his audience with a mature fairy tale, encompassing both the traditional struggle between good and evil, while also drawing connections to other notable fairy tales, instrumental in every adult’s childhood.
During the Spanish Civil War, Ofelia (Ivana Baquero) and her pregnant Mother, Carmen (Ariadna Gil), move to the countryside to live with her stepfather and his troops. Her stepfather, Captain Vidal (Sergi López i Ayats), and his troops are stationed there to fight the resistance against the Fascist revolution. Ofelia confides in her fairy tales to distract herself from reality, including her mother’s declining health from her pregnancy and her hatred for her stepfather. Ironically, her dreams about fantasy seem to be coming true as she begins her stay with Captain Vidal and his troops. She follows a fairy to a labyrinth who introduces her to a faun (Doug Jones), who tells Ofelia of her identity, Princess Moanna, and gives her various tasks throughout the film to verify Princess Moanna’s spirit is still intact. Meanwhile, Ofelia must juggle her responsibilities to the faun with her real life, finding herself at odds with Captain Vidal as she learns more of his cruelty, insensitivity and selfishness. Del Toro alternates between the two storylines keeping the audience guessing, while also contrasting the fantasy world with real world, enabling for a more elaborate plot. This method is very effective in underlining Ofelia’s emotional journey and growth throughout the film.
Ivana Baquero does an exemplary job of portraying all the emotions associated with Ofelia and a young girl faced with the responsibility of reopening a gateway to a fantasy world and reclaiming her rightful place as its princess. Ivana also effectively displays her animosity towards her cold stepfather, Doug Jones, who nicely contrasts the genuine innocence of Ofelia with his own insane, malicious, and evil persona. In addition, although the plot switches back between the two worlds, it is very understandable and its focus on Ofelia and Captain Vidal primarily, lends to clarity. Pan’s Labyrinth outshines Del Toro’s Hell Boy, appealing to a far larger audience, and accomplishing much more despite being a fantasy and in Spanish.
Del Toro is widely known for his attention to detail when it comes to aesthetics and Pan’s Labyrinth is no exception. Many of scenes in the fantasy world embrace a rich color scheme of red, gold, and yellow. In addition, these scenes have much better lighting than those of the real world. In contrast, scenes from the real world embrace a much colder color scheme of blue, and black, emphasizing the lack of compassion of Captain Vidal and his troops. The special effects are almost flawless, greatly aiding in the believability of the fantastical. In addition, the music is instrumental in advancing the plot in both times of ecstasy and peril.
Pan’s Labyrinth is a polished work, containing all the customary elements of a fairy tale with an added influx of violence as well as a sophisticated plot, necessary for its’ appeal to an untraditional adult audience. It is a visual masterpiece thanks to Del Toro’s strength in visual symbolism but it does not lack content, Ofelia’s journey alone draws great attention to her innocence and her will power. The ending is left open to interpretation allowing its mostly adult audience to question their own beliefs in the fantastical.

4 of 4 Books of Crossroads, Faun-tastical!