Spain 1944. During a period of fascism and civil war, 10 year-old Ofelia and her heavily pregnant mother move to the country to live in an old mansion with her new stepfather. Upon arriving in the countryside, Ofelia discovers an ancient labyrinth and a faun who persuades her that she is a princess who belongs in the fairy world underground. In order for her to get back to her true home, she must complete three tasks to prove her worth, but when her mother gets sick, the tasks become second priority and with the deadline soon approaching, can Ofelia complete them in time?
It took me three goes before I fell in love with this movie. The only reason I watched it was because all my friends and relatives were ringing me up and saying, “I just finished watching Pan’s Labyrinth and was instantly reminded of you!” At first, I found the film dark, sinister, and rather violent and I was sitting there thinking, “what the hell does this say about me?” But after watching it a few more times, I saw the beauty and the brilliance of the film. It’s particularly wonderful how the fantasy half of the story is just as real as the reality half, creating a perfect symmetry.
During a period of fascism and civil war in Spain in 1944, 10 year-old Ofelia moves with her heavily pregnant mother to live in an old mansion in the countryside with her new stepfather. Intimidated by this new man, Ofelia finds herself alone, with only her books of fairy tales to comfort her. Curious by nature, Ofelia soon takes to wandering through the woods near the house and, during one such wandering, discovers an ancient labyrinth in which lives a faun. When the faun meets her, he is convinced that she is a long lost princess not of Earth, but belonging to the fantasy world Underground. As Ofelia begins to believe this, the faun explains that she must complete three tasks in order to prove her worth before she can return to her true home. But soon, Ofelia’s mother becomes very ill and the tasks become second priority.
From director Guillermo Del Toro comes this chilling fantasy tale of innocence versus evil. As I mentioned before, the film has a wonderful symmetry to it as the two worlds of fantasy and reality are just as real, scary, and sometimes violent as each other.
What immediately strikes you about this movie is how beautiful it is. The music, the story, the performances, the effects, and the sets were all truly beautiful. It was the winner (and rightly so) of 3 BAFTAS including Best Film No In the English Language and the 2007 Academy Award for Best Achievement in Art Direction, Cinematography, and Makeup. The entire film was a visually stunning masterpiece, especially the creation of the faun and other creatures of the fairy world.
I simply have to draw attention to the performance of Ivana Baquero who plays Ofelia. She was absolutely beautiful. Simple, charming, she was the essence of innocence and brought light to the dark happenings of both the fantasy world and reality. Absolutely mesmerising.
Starring Ivana Baquero, Sergi Lopez, Maribel Verdu, Doug Jones, and Ariadna Gil, Pan’s Labyrinth was a visually stunning and chilling fantasy about the power of innocence. Filled with warfare, violence, amazing creatures, haunting music, and with a magnificent story as its backbone, it is a must-have in any film buff’s collection.
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