Pan's Labyrinth - A+

Whether it be through rabbit holes, magic portals or wardrobes, fantasy stories usually offer us a chance to escape from the limitations of the world as we know it to look at the age old human condition from the fresh perspective of an imaginative world. Guillermo Del Toro, however, does away with any explanation of how his magical world is entered and confronts fantasy with reality in a completely new way. The blendiing of the real and the fantastic hinges on its main character, Ofelia an imaginitive young Spanish girl who finds herself caught up in the aftershocks of her country's Civil War in the 1940s (this is a Spanish movie subtitled in English). Devoted to her mother and her unborn brother, but loathing of her evil stepfather, a fascist general, Ofelia finds escape from her bleak surroundings when she finds a faun in the woods outside of their country estate who commissions her to perform three tasks to become a princess and to be transported to her magical kingdom beneath the earth. The faun is not cuddly like Mr. Tumnus, but a gaunt unearthly creature with a more mythical and sinister appearance. The faun sets the tone for the entire movie, wondrous but dark. Pan's Labyrinth is no Narnia-ish romp through a magical world, but a shadowy fable of tragedy, evil and innocence in the time of war. Just because Ofelia has been told that she will become a princess does not lessen the pain of her ailing mother, the evil intentions of her stepfather and the inevitable suffering that war inflicts upon the weak. The fantasy story parallels her real life trials and interprets them through a child's eyes. Thus, Ofelia's fantasy world, though beautiful and imaginative, is no less dangerous than the harshness of real life. One scene involving a child-eating monster takes you right back to every nightmare you had as a sixth year old kid, and a descent into a dying tree to extract a gluttonous toad explores new levels of gross.
At the risk of being labeled a prudish, point-missing Christian I feel a duty to note that the violence in this film is extreme. It occurs mostly at the behest of Ofelia’s vicious stepfather, a Spanish general with a penchant for torture. Not only does Del Toro make no attempt at downplaying the violence of war, he amplifies it. The violent content is disturbing and unrealistic, but also essential to the film’s purpose. Unlike “Children of Men” or “Saving Private Ryan” the outlook on violence is not incidental and heartless, it is personal and vengeful. The camera often lingers on the bloody imagery more like a horror film than a war movie, and it carries a more profound and sentimental effect than the chaotic battlegrounds of other typical war films. Del Toro gives us time with the victims allowing their suffering to evoke a maximal response of disgust and pity from the audience. Ofelia’s mother tells her daughter in one scene “you will learn that the world is a cruel place…even if it hurts.” The violence in “Pan’s Labyrinth”, however, goes beyond a simple portrayal of cruelty. The interpretation of war in Spanish art has always carried a mythical significance. The film's violence reminded me of Goya's etchings which would depict unrelentingly gruesome scenes of torture complete with mythic demons amid a landscape that looked vaguely like Spain, but seemed more reminiscent of hell. Del Toro’s take on war continues in the spirit of Goya, masterfully blending the horrors of reality and nightmare into a seamless whole. Though the two worlds are kept largely separate, they are thematically bound together, and the motivations of the villains and heroes in both realms parallel each other in a profound way.
Aside from the artistic achievements that the casual moviegoer can take or leave, the story is effective and moving. Newcomer Ivana Baquero plays the lead role beautifully with a delicate balance of innocence and rebellion that characterizes the age of transitional age of 12. Sergi Lopez plays her stepfather with a disquietingly cool ruthlessness that makes him easily the most evil villain of the year. The story flows wonderfully and the finale (which I will not give away!) is a satisfying synthesis of tragedy and victory, fantasy and reality. Everyone will have something to take away from this film whether you are a total fantasy geek or someone who just enjoys imaginative