Pan's Labyrinth

by Greg Luther

Fantasy has become quite a cash cow in Hollywood over the past few years. As with any genre that sees such great success, studios get dollar signs in their eyes and we subsequently get the onslaught of imitators. What's so great about the Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter series is that the technology has finally advanced to a point where films of that genre can be brought to life, allowing us to experience these stories in a way that was previously impossible. The downside is that after a while everything starts to resemble Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter. Enter writer/director Guillermo del Toro who with Pan's Labyrinth has shown us that there is still a lot left to be mined from fantasy, and you don't have to break the bank to do it.

The film opens on perhaps my favorite shot of the movie. Our hero, Ofelia (played by the remarkable young actress, Ivana Baquero) is lying on the ground with a bloody nose, as time slowly starts working its way backwards. The scene does a great job at establishing the film's dark tone and sense that things aren't quite what they seem, and very effectively lets the viewer know what they are in for. From there we are whisked back to the beginning of the story where Ofelia is traveling in a caravan with her pregnant mother and caretaker, Mercedes (Maribel Verdu whom you may remember from fellow Mexican filmmaker, Alfonso Cuaron's Y Tu Mama Tambien) to reunite with her stepfather, a captain in the Spanish Civil War. Ofelia proceeds to wander off on her own and chase a grasshopper (or is it a fairy?) down the proverbial rabbit hole, meeting the titular faun (though he's never actually named in the film). Much of the film sounds rather familiar to anyone with a love of fairy tales, and the film certainly wears its influences on its sleeve, but it never feels tired. In fact, even though the story is entirely original, the film's dark tone more closely mirrors classic Brothers Grimm fairy tales than any movies that actually adapted those stories, giving the audience something they haven't seen before while invoking tradition as well. There's also plenty of homage to Alice in Wonderland, the most overt being a dress given to Ofelia, which looks nearly identical to the one Alice wears in the classic Disney version. She quickly decides the dress is not her style however, and discards it. There's even a little bit of Zelda in there too. Don't believe me? Tell me the tasks Pan gives Ofelia don't seem like something right out of a fantasy role-playing game. Then there's the evil stepfather subbing in for the wicked stepmother. And make no mistake; Captain Vidal is an absolute bastard, showing no regard for human life whatsoever. He would almost seem cartoonish, but think about the villains in most fairy tales. Things are traditionally very black and white, and you can always distinguish good and evil easily.

The direction from Guillermo del Toro is quite impressive. Much of the imagery of the film evokes the art of Mike Mignola, which really made me realize just how perfect del Toro was for Hellboy. In a way Pan's Labyrinth felt even more Mignola-esque than that film did, so I'm excited to see if he carries much of this style over to the Hellboy sequel. Another notable effect del Toro employs is the use of foreshadowing. There's a scene that pretty clearly telegraphs what is going to happen between two characters later in the film, and I was rather proud of myself for catching it. I was knocked off my high horse soon after though, when I realized that another plot element that was very clearly hinted at early on flew right over my head. You'll know it when you see it. It's quite a cool bit of hiding something in plain sight. As for the effects, they're kind of a mixed bag. I tend to not hold special effects against a low budget indie film, but what was striking to me in this case was that there are some really spectacular effects and others that are more obviously computery. The frog in particular stuck out to me as noticeable CG, but on the other hand, there was a stitching sequence that looked so phenomenal that I honestly have no idea how they pulled it off. I'm pretty sure everyone in my theater was squirming during that scene.

I've gone at length about the fantasy aspects of the film, but that's really only half of the picture. There is a great focus on the Spanish Civil War, which effectively grounds the film, and keeps the characters from becoming too distant (no easy feat in a film featuring creatures with eyes in their hands). It's far from just a plot device however, as many of the most compelling scenes in the film are war-centric and have nothing to do with the fantasy elements (particularly the battle scenes). The war stuff may not be as fresh as the fantasy but the craft involved is just as impressive. Despite the overall positive tone of the review however, I can see this film not being for everyone (in fact, I myself found it to be my least favorite of this year's "Three Amigos" trilogy), but if you're thirsting for something different than what has been available in theaters lately, Pan's Labyrinth is sure to provide a unique moviegoing experience at the very least, and these days you can do a lot worse than that.