AFI FEST

by Ari

Pan's Labyrinth - Guillermo Del Toro
 
Guillermo Del Toro’s much hyped fairy tale is beautiful, but uneven, imaginative yet empty. Pan’s Labyrinth is the work of an undeniable talent, but a talent that never fully brings his story together for an emotional impact. Part fantasy, part historical drama, Pan’s Labyrinth attempts to juggle two different movies in order to create a tale of innocence and love during a time of war and oppression. On a conceptual level, Del Toro’s vision is ambitious and intriguing, blending the fantastical with the real as he did in previous efforts like The Devil’s Backbone. In actuality, Pan’s Labyrinth is a very small and intimate story, where the fantasy elements are really minor in comparison to the historical aspect. The film is about Franco’s Spain more than anything, which might leave some viewers a bit confused and underwhelmed.

The fantasy exists as an escape for the main character, a young girl named Ofelia (Ivana Baquero), who creates her own imaginary world to free herself from the horrors she faces in her real life. Again, on a conceptual level this sounds interesting, especially for thematic purposes. A young girl holds onto her innocence, refusing to betray herself and the people she loves, no matter how dire and terrifying the circumstances. Ofelia lets her imagination roam free to help herself survive the emotional trauma of the events around her, believing in the absurdity of magic since there’s nothing else to hope for. There’s no question Pan’s Labyrinth is filmed with passion, but that passion seems to be directed towards the technical qualities rather than the emotion of the characters and themes. The reality of the story needs to be fully realized and dramatically powerful in order to care about the fantasy elements, but since it’s not, investing in the conflict is difficult. The historical drama is thinly developed, with rather simplistic characters inhabiting the world Del Toro recreates.

The most notable of these characters is the villain of the story, Captain Vidal, played by Sergi López. His character is evil, pure and simple. He’s cold and sinister, enjoys torturing his prisoners, takes pleasure in shooting already dead bodies, and exudes malice and contempt. His fascism reigns over the small village in which he dwells, with guerilla freedom fighters closing in from the forest that surrounds them. His wife, Ofelia’s mother, is pregnant and enduring great pain and agony at her last stages. Mercedes (Maribel Verdú) is one of Vidal’s servants, but actually a spy for the opposition along with the village doctor (Álex Angulo). Ofelia is surrounded by all this chaos and misery, fearing for her mother above everything else. It’s a brutal world she hardly understands, so escaping into her own fantasy is her only means of happiness. Of course, as situations get progressively worse and violent, her own fairy tale world becomes more complex. Well, sort of.

The fantasy that Ofelia creates revolves around a labyrinth she must open in order to fulfill her destiny as the daughter of an ancient King from another realm. She meets a Faun (Pan), who guides her on her quest to open the labyrinth’s portal. This involves three tasks, none of which are very interesting. Obtaining a golden key from a huge toad, using the key to unlock another important item from a hideous creature, and eventually sacrificing innocent blood to open the portal. Since all of this is in her head, it hardly matters. Ofelia’s fantasy is thematically light because her real story isn’t all that compelling. The weight of the situation is considerably less than it should be due to uninteresting, bland characters - from Ofelia’s mother, to the soldiers who fight against Vidal. The faun (played by Doug Jones), is charming, though.

On a technical level, Pan’s Labyrinth is without fault. The cinematography is excellent and the make-up effects and production design are extremely impressive. Del Toro understands how to create atmospheric sequences, and much of the material is fueled by his vast imagination. The aforementioned hideous creature is the best part of the movie - a sequence of genuine suspense and horror. The nightmarish imagery in Pan’s Labyrinth is further proof that Del Toro is one of the prime contemporary visionaries of the macabre. A deep artistry can be found in his work, even if the final product is mixed. Pan’s Labyrinth is a worthy inclusion to Del Toro’s filmography, but it lacks the emotional impact needed to become something great.