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Movie Review | 'Pan's Labyrinth'

In Gloom of War, a Child's Paradise

By A.O. SCOTT

• Dec. 29, 2006

Set in a dark Spanish forest in a very dark time — 1944, when Spain was still in the early stages of the fascist nightmare from which the rest of Europe was painfully starting to awaken — “Pan’s Labyrinth” is a political fable in the guise of a fairy tale. Or maybe it’s the other way around. Does the moral structure of the children’s story — with its clearly marked poles of good and evil, its narrative of dispossession and vindication — illuminate the nature of authoritarian rule? Or does the movie reveal fascism as a terrible fairy tale brought to life?

The brilliance of “Pan’s Labyrinth” is that its current of imaginative energy runs both ways. If this is magic realism, it is also the work of a real magician. The director, Guillermo Del Toro, unapologetically and unpretentiously swears allegiance to a pop-fantasy tradition that encompasses comic books, science fiction and horror movies, but fan-boy pastiche is the last thing on his mind. He is also a thoroughgoing cinephile, steeped in classical technique and film history.

This Mexican-born filmmaker’s English-language, Hollywood genre movies — “Blade 2” (2002), “Hellboy” (2004) and the ill-starred but interesting “Mimic” (1997) — have a strangeness and intensity of feeling that sets them apart from others of their kind. In his recent Spanish-language films, “The Devil’s Backbone” (2001) and this new one, he uses the feverish inventiveness of a vulnerable child’s imagination as the basis for his own utterly original, seamlessly effective exploration of power, corruption and resistance.

“Pan’s Labyrinth” is his finest achievement so far and a film that already, seven months after it was first shown at the Cannes Film Festival, has the feel of something permanent. Like his friend and colleague Alfonso Cuarón, whose astonishing “Children of Men” opened earlier this week, Mr. Del Toro is helping to make the boundary separating pop from art, always suspect, seem utterly obsolete.

“Pan’s Labyrinth” is a swift and accessible entertainment, blunt in its power and exquisite in its effects. A child could grasp its moral insights (though it is not a film I’d recommend for most children), while all but the most cynical of adults are likely to find themselves troubled to the point of heartbreak by its dark, rich and emphatic emotions.

The heroine is a girl named Ofelia, played by the uncannily talented Ivana Baquero, who was 11 when the film was made. Ofelia is the kind of child who eagerly reads stories about fairies, princesses and magic lands, longing to believe that what she reads is real. Mr. Del Toro obliges her wish by conjuring, just beyond the field of vision of the adults in Ofelia’s life, a grotesque, enchanted netherworld governed by the sometimes harsh rules of folk magic.

That realm, in which Ofelia is thought to be a long-lost princess, may exist only in her imagination. Or maybe not: its ambiguous status is crucial to the film’s coherence. Like the Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki, Mr. Del Toro is less interested in debunking or explaining away the existence of magic than in surveying the natural history of enchantment.

The forest around the old mill where Ofelia and her mother come to live is full of signs and portents: old carved stones and half-buried, crumbling structures that attest to a pre-modern, pre-Christian body of lore and belief. In much of the West that ancient magic survives in the form of bedtime stories and superstitions, and these in turn, as Mr. Del Toro evokes them, lead back through the maze of human psychology into the profound mysteries of nature.

Ofelia’s second reality — inhabited by a wide-browed faun, a man whose eyes are in the palms of his hands (both played by Doug Jones), a giant toad, some mantislike insects and many other curious creatures — can be a pretty scary place, and on her visits to it the girl is, like many a fairy-tale heroine, subjected to various challenges and ordeals. Still, this vivid world of fairies offers her an escape from the oppression of a day-to-day existence dominated by her stepfather, Captain Vidal (Sergi López), an officer in Franco’s army who seems to live by the maxim that fascism begins at home.

A patriarch both by temperament and ideology, the captain treats Ofelia’s mother, Carmen (Ariadna Gil), with chilly, humiliating decorum, making it clear that she is of value to him only because she is pregnant with his son. He takes pleasure in the exercise of authority and in the trappings of military discipline, addressing himself to the torture of captured resistance fighters with sadistic relish. He seems happiest when he is inflicting pain.

The partisans up in the hills — and their sympathizers in the captain’s own household, including the housekeeper, Mercedes (Maribel Verdú) and the doctor (Alex Angulo) who attends to Carmen — represent one of the film’s alternatives to the militarized, hierarchical society taking shape in post-civil war Spain. Their easy solidarity and ragged mufti stand in emphatic contrast to the crisp uniforms and exaggerated obeisances of Vidal and his men. At his dinner table the captain gloats that Franco and his followers have defeated the “mistaken” egalitarianism of their republican opponents.

Like “The Devil’s Backbone,” which also took place in the shadow of the Spanish Civil War, “Pan’s Labyrinth” is not overly concerned with moral subtlety. In Mr. López’s perversely charismatic performance, Vidal is a villain of the purest, ugliest kind. For Mr. Del Toro the opposite of evil is not holiness, but decency.

Ofelia serves as her stepfather’s foil not because of her absolute goodness or innocence but rather because she is skeptical, stubborn and independent-minded. Her rebellion is as much against Carmen’s passivity as it is against Vidal’s brutality, and she gravitates toward the brave Mercedes as a kind of surrogate mother.

Mercedes’s surreptitious visits to the rebels often coincide with Ofelia’s journeys into fairyland, and it may be that the film’s romantic view of the noble, vanquished Spanish Republic is itself something of a fairy tale. To note this is merely to identify a humanist, utopian strain in Mr. Del Toro’s vision, a generous, sorrowful view of the world that is not entirely alien to the history of horror movies. (Think of James Whale’s “Frankenstein,” for example, a film linked to “Pan’s Labyrinth” by Victor Erice’s “Spirit of the Beehive,” one of the few masterpieces of Spanish cinema made before Franco’s death.)

Fairy tales (and scary movies) are designed to console as well as terrify. What distinguishes “Pan’s Labyrinth,” what makes it art, is that it balances its own magical thinking with the knowledge that not everyone lives happily ever after.

The story has two endings, two final images that linger in haunting, unresolved tension. Here is a princess, smilingly restored to her throne, bathed in golden subterranean light. And here is a grown woman weeping inconsolably in the hard blue twilight of a world beyond the reach of fantasy.

“Pan’s Labyrinth” is rated R (Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian). It has graphic violence and occasional obscene language.

PAN’S LABYRINTH

Opens today in New York.

Written (in Spanish, with English subtitles) and directed by Guillermo Del Toro; director of photography, Guillermo Navarro; edited by Bernat Vilaplana; music by Javier Navarrete; production designer, Eugenio Caballero; produced by Bertha Navarro, Alfonso Cuarón, Frida Torresblanco and Álvaro Augustin; released by Picturehouse. Running time: 119 minutes.

WITH: Sergi López (Vidal), Maribel Verdú (Mercedes), Ivana Baquero (Ofelia), Ariadna Gil (Carmen), Alex Angulo (Doctor) and Doug Jones (Pale Man).

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Pan's labyrinth.

• Common Sense Says
• Parents Say 38 Reviews
• Kids Say 62 Reviews

Common Sense Media Review

By Cynthia Fuchs , based on child development research. How do we rate?

Brilliant, poignant fairy tale has dark violence.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Pan's Labyrinth is a mature Spanish fantasy-horror film (subtitled in English for U.S. release) that focuses on an 11-year-old girl's experience in the years following the Spanish Civil War. Young Ofelia (Ivana Baquero) is a brave central character, and her two mother figures, Carmen…

Why Age 15+?

Language (all in English subtitles for U.S. release) includes "a--holes," "f--k,

A child bleeds to death at the film's beginning and ending. Battle scenes includ

Casual wine and liquor drinking. Characters smoke and discuss tobacco.

A girl is shown in underwear and later covered by water in a bath. Tiny fairies

Any Positive Content?

Main character Ofelia is thoughtful, imaginative, courageous, and wants to help

Ofelia, a young girl, is compassionate and resourceful. Carmen and Mercedes are

Mistakes happen, but it's more about acting with courage and compassion afterwar

Language (all in English subtitles for U.S. release) includes "a--holes," "f--k," "motherf----r," "hell," "bitch," "son of a bitch," and "damn." Name calling such as "idiot" and "brat."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Violence & Scariness

A child bleeds to death at the film's beginning and ending. Battle scenes include close-range shooting, explosions, and bloody wounds. Captain Vidal commits brutal acts of violence (graphically beating, shooting, and torturing people). After his mouth is cut, he graphically stitches his wound. He's also verbally and physically abusive to his family. A woman with pregnancy complications bleeds heavily. Creepy otherworldly creatures pose great danger and die violently. The eyeless Pale Man, a creature that kills children, chases Ofelia through a bone-filled cavern and bites her fairy friends in half.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

A girl is shown in underwear and later covered by water in a bath. Tiny fairies have humanoid bodies but don't wear clothes. But neither is presented in a sexual way.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Positive Role Models

Main character Ofelia is thoughtful, imaginative, courageous, and wants to help others. She perseveres despite some scary circumstances. Carmen and Mercedes are compassionate and protect others. Captain Vidal is a model for what not to be -- he's violent, ruthless, and cares only about his own needs.

Diverse Representations

Ofelia, a young girl, is compassionate and resourceful. Carmen and Mercedes are also important women -- they bravely protect their families. But a supporting character with a stutter is repeatedly mocked. Set in Spain during the 1940s, all characters are White but some are very poor while others are quite wealthy. Directed by Mexican filmmaker Guillermo del Toro , the dialogue is entirely in Spanish.

Did we miss something on diversity? Suggest an update.

Positive Messages

Mistakes happen, but it's more about acting with courage and compassion afterwards that matters. Resistance can be noble if it's done to help loved ones or save a community. However, the film sends a negative message that, when you do harm to others, sometimes you can get away with it.

Parents need to know that Pan's Labyrinth is a mature Spanish fantasy-horror film (subtitled in English for U.S. release) that focuses on an 11-year-old girl's experience in the years following the Spanish Civil War. Young Ofelia ( Ivana Baquero ) is a brave central character, and her two mother figures, Carmen (Ariadna Gil) and Mercedes (Maribel Verdú), demonstrate great compassion for others. While the film is gorgeous and includes elements of magic and fantasy, it's not meant for children. Violent scenes include the bloody death of a child; battles with guns, knives, and grenades; and explicit, on-screen acts (pain and bloody wounds visible). The villain repeatedly brutalizes others, berates his wife, threatens his stepdaughter, kills villagers (beating and shooting them), and tortures people. The otherworldly creatures Ofelia meets can be frightening -- they're strange, noisy, and physically threatening. Adult characters smoke and drink, and language includes"f--k," "bitch," and "bastard." To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

Videos and photos.

Parent and Kid Reviews

• Parents say (38)
• Kids say (62)

Based on 38 parent reviews

What's the Story?

PAN'S LABYRINTH takes place in 1944. Eleven-year-old Ofelia ( Ivana Baquero ) is traveling with her pregnant mother, Carmen (Ariadna Gil), en route to her new stepfather's military outpost in Northern Spain. But Captain Vidal (Sergi López) has no interest in Ofelia or even her mother -- all he cares about is passing on his name and legacy to the son Carmen carries. Luckily for Ofelia, she meets Vidal's housekeeper, Mercedes (Maribel Verdú), who's secretly helping the rebels hiding in the woods. As Ofelia navigates her new life, her own fantasy story unfolds, which is overseen by a magical creature called a faun ( Doug Jones ). He identifies Ofelia as the Underground Realm's missing Princess Moanna and gives her quests that will reveal whether she's worthy of returning to her kingdom.

Is It Any Good?

Part fairy tale, part adventure story, and part political allegory, director Guillermo del Toro 's story about a brave little girl surviving a stressful situation is brilliant and poignant. The strengths of Pan's Labyrinth are its memorable artistic visuals and compelling performances by the phenomenal Baquero (Ofelia) and Verdú (Mercedes). Despite the movie's focus on magic, this isn't a film for children -- it's full of shockingly violent scenes, including brutal beatings and torture. Likewise, the fantasy creatures Ofelia encounters can be as terrifying as her violent stepfather. By pairing the brutality of the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War -- including poverty and fascism -- with dark fantasy elements, the film makes a strong commentary about the true nature of life, even when wrapped in a fairy tale.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about the nature of fairy tales in Pan's Labyrinth . How do they reflect (and comment upon) real-life experiences?

How do Ofelia's experiences in the fantastical world mirror what she's going through at home?

How does Ofelia show courage in the face of danger and compassion for others around her? Why are these important character strengths ?

Movie Details

• In theaters : December 29, 2006
• On DVD or streaming : May 15, 2007
• Cast : Ivana Baquero , Maribel Verdu , Sergi Lopez
• Director : Guillermo Del Toro
• Inclusion Information : Latino directors, Female actors, Latino writers
• Studio : Picturehouse
• Genre : Fantasy
• Topics : Magic and Fantasy , Fairy Tales , History
• Character Strengths : Compassion , Courage
• Run time : 120 minutes
• MPAA rating : R
• MPAA explanation : graphic violence and some language.
• Last updated : June 30, 2023

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

Suggest an Update

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‘pan’s labyrinth’: thr’s 2006 review.

On Dec. 29, 2006, the Guillermo Del Toro film hit theaters in limited release.

By Ray Bennett

Ray Bennett

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On Dec. 29, 2006, after a premiere at the Cannes Film Festival earlier in the year, Guillermo Del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth hit theaters in limited release. The film went on to claim three Oscars at the 79th Academy Awards, for art direction, makeup and cinematography. The Hollywood Reporter’s original review is below: 

The bizarre beasts in a young girl’s phantasmagorical imagination are nothing compared to the ruthless brutes that populate her day-to-day reality, so it’s no wonder she wishes to escape in Guillermo del Toro’s engrossing fable Pan’s Labyrinth .

The story is set in Spain in 1944 as Franco’s victorious fascist forces bear down with punishing weight on any who resist. The film’s extraordinary fantasy sequences, in which the girl must complete three arduous tasks, offer a semblance of hope and salvation compared to the short life expectancy in a merciless military state.

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Definitely not for children and in fact more of a horror film, Pan’s Labyrinth  will thrive on the festival circuit and should find appreciative audiences in art houses everywhere.

Rooted in the grim pessimism of totalitarian Spain, the film begins with a prologue about the fate of a long-lost princess and the promise of her return. As the tale is told, a pregnant and sickly woman, Carmen ( Ariadna Gil) and her daughter Ofelia ( Ivana Baquero ) arrive at a military outpost commanded by Carmen’s officious new husband, Capt. Vidal ( Sergi Lopez).

Ofelia still pines for her late father while her mother entreats her to embrace the stiff and unpleasant captain, although it soon becomes apparent that he is more interested in fathering a son than in being a husband or father to the girl.

Worse than that, he reveals himself as a monster who kills captured rebels with extreme brutality and utter disdain for their existence. The camp is threatened by a gathering number of guerillas aided secretly by their leader’s sister, Mercedes (Maribel Verdu ), who is the captain’s chief housekeeper. As Carmen’s health deteriorates, a humane doctor (Alex Angulo ) becomes a regular visitor, although where his sympathies lie remains to be seen.

As Vidal’s merciless character is revealed, Ofelia finds herself captivated by fairies that lead her to an ancient maze leading down to a labyrinth where she encounters a fearsome but talkative faun (Doug Jones). He claims she is a legendary lost princess and she must pass three tests in order to claim immortality.

These involve tackling a monstrous toad that has swallowed a key; braving a faceless creature with eyes in his hands who sets out a tempting banquet and devours anyone who tastes a single morsel; and a classic dilemma that requires spilling the blood of an innocent.

As Ofelia faces these challenges, her mother struggles with an increasingly difficult pregnancy and the captain devises ever-more-gruesome ways to torture captive resistance fighters. The girl’s adventures are as real to her as the surrounding horrors, and Del Toro’s great accomplishment is in weaving the two together so convincingly.

The visual effects are mesmerizing and the harsh drama of the military camp has its horrific moments of torture and death, as well as when the captain sews together his cheek after being slashed by an assailant.

The performers are all good, with Baquero poised and beautiful as Ofelia and Verdu vital and spirited as the rebellious Mercedes. Lopez gives an extraordinary performance as the bestial captain, an irredeemable villain to rank with Ralph Fiennes ‘ Nazi in Schindler’s List . — Ray Bennett, originally published May 27, 2006 after the title’s Cannes festival debut. 

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Pan's Labyrinth Reviews

A few of the tales are a bit of a stretch, but the scope of the Pan's Labyrinth universe comes out feeling much larger than ever before.

Full Review | Mar 26, 2024

Tremendously profound... [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Oct 28, 2022

Those who seek fizzier, stomach-calming seltzer at the movies are advised to look elsewhere. Others, like me, will surrender gratefully to the black and bloody enchantment.

Full Review | Original Score: A | Sep 20, 2022

The script is undoubtedly better than the movie. Majestic production design in what remains as one of the fantasy classics. Del Toro's eternal beginnings. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 7/10 | Jun 16, 2022

Del Toro's finest work to date, beautifully blends magical worlds and fairy tales with grim, real-world evilness. The results are profound and moving. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Jun 13, 2022

Guillermo Del Toro returns fairy tales back to their deathly origins.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/4 | Mar 18, 2022

Pan's Labyrinth proved that del Toro's most intimate and imaginative stories are also his most resonant and beautiful...

Full Review | Apr 14, 2021

Insert list of superlatives here - I just love this film so so so so much.

Full Review | Dec 12, 2020

It's rare to see a production of such breathtaking magnitude, with an absolutely singular vision and spellbinding fantasy components.

Full Review | Original Score: 10/10 | Nov 21, 2020

To date Guillermo Del Toro's most provocative accomplishment, Pan's Labyrinth is a beautifully realized but brutal fairy tale.

Full Review | Original Score: 4.5/5 | Sep 30, 2020

PAN'S LABYRINTH harks back to a time when fairytales were dark and filled with life lessons prior to the tales being taken up by Disney's more family-friendly hands.

Full Review | Original Score: 9.5/10 | Jun 22, 2020

His (Toro's) incredible visual style, uncanny CGI world, and gift for a particular style of storytelling knock this out of the park.

Full Review | Apr 7, 2020

I'm not sure if "Labyrinth" is a film that will appeal to everyone, but if you are looking for a movie that will challenge as well as amaze, then this is the one to see.

Full Review | Original Score: A | Nov 21, 2019

Del Toro is a magnificent story teller and this labor of love is one of his many masterpieces.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/5 | Oct 1, 2019

A modern-day fable for the ages - one that will live in the hearts of all who see it for years to come.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | Jun 6, 2019

Guillermo del Toro's brutal, breathtaking and magical finest hour is not kid-friendly.

Full Review | Oct 10, 2018

Although Pan's Labyrinth ends in tragedy, it does so to show us that, regardless of what we are told, there are no happy endings in war.

Full Review | Aug 24, 2018

This is a wildly creative film that plays on your heart and your head, stunning in its rich imagery and ambitious in its themes.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/5 | Feb 1, 2018

The film is one of those rare beasts, with a sense of genuine permanency. It beds down in your mind, like it is preparing to live there for a while. It is not pretty, but it is, sometimes, very beautiful.

Full Review | Aug 23, 2017

...all the shivering intensity and satisfying denouement of the darkest Grimm's fairy tale.

Full Review | Apr 15, 2016

Film Review: Pan’s Labyrinth

Richly imagined and exquisitely violent fantasy from writer-director Guillermo del Toro. A fairy tale not even remotely intended for children, this entrancing magical-realist drama concocts a sinister spin on "Alice in Wonderland" against the war-torn backdrop of 1940s Spain, Will rely heavily on strong reviews and the loyalty of del Toro's fans.

By Justin Chang

Justin Chang

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There’s plenty of blood — both literal and figurative — coursing through the veins of “Pan’s Labyrinth,” a richly imagined and exquisitely violent fantasy from writer-director Guillermo del Toro. A fairy tale not even remotely intended for children, this entrancing magical-realist drama concocts a sinister spin on “Alice in Wonderland” against the war-torn backdrop of 1940s Spain, shifting between two worlds with striking craft and discipline. With its graphic phantasmagorical elements and Spanish-language dialogue, pic will rely heavily on strong reviews and the loyalty of del Toro’s fans when Picturehouse releases it Stateside in October. International prospects look more promising.

Though he’s best known for directing the comic book adaptations “Blade II” and “Hellboy,” the Mexican helmer’s sixth feature marks a return to the supernatural trappings and delicately shaded emotions of his 2001 ghost story “The Devil’s Backbone.” Like the earlier film, “Pan’s Labyrinth” (with five credited producers, including del Toro’s countryman Alfonso Cuaron) is set during the violent aftermath of the Spanish Civil War, and reveals a similar concern for the plight of children living under fascist rule.

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Opening voiceover tells the myth of a princess who fled her underground kingdom to reach the human world, where she eventually died, leaving her father to pine for the return of her soul. Storybook narration transitions smoothly into scenes of a bookish young girl, Ofelia (Ivana Baquero), and her mother Carmen (Ariadne Gil) traveling through the Spanish countryside, underscoring the film’s matter-of-fact melding of the real and the fantastical. Carmen is pregnant by her new husband, a proud and cruelly sadistic captain in Gen. Francisco Franco’s army named Vidal (Sergi Lopez), who is trying to snuff out a guerrilla uprising nearby.

While her mother is bed-ridden, Ofelia goes exploring and discovers an intricate stone labyrinth, where she encounters the legendary faun Pan, a half-man, half-goat (played by “Hellboy’s” Doug Jones in a goat mask) with a chillingly glassy stare. The faun tells Ofelia that she is the lost princess and must complete three dangerous tasks to return to her underground home. Ofelia accepts this news readily, and some viewers may not be quite convinced by her utter composure and unquestioning demeanor as she agrees to Pan’s challenge.

Though the early setups will likely prove the greatest strain on audience credulity, del Toro’s masterful direction shifts from fantasy to reality and back again with remarkable fluidity. As Ofelia goes about her tasks — which include escaping from the skeletal Pale Man (Jones again), a spectacularly designed creature with oddly positioned eyeballs — the helmer maintains equal focus on the war front, as Vidal’s housekeeper Mercedes (“Y tu mama tambien’s” Maribel Verdu) and doctor (Alex Angulo) bravely conspire to keep the guerrilla revolt alive. The result is a slow-burning war drama that deepens audience involvement by incremental degrees, punctuated by brief but potent spasms of visual grotesquerie that show Marti, production designer Eugenio Caballero and visual effects supervisor Everett Burrell and special effects supervisor Reyes Abades working at a very high level. Despite pic’s intense level of stylization, digital f/x are sparingly and precisely applied, never devolving into visual overkill.

Del Toro’s taste for matter-of-fact surrealism inevitably means that some of the story’s metaphorical and mythological underpinnings remain elusive, though for the most part the story’s flow is so relentless that explanations feel almost unnecessary.

With her quiet resilience and enormously expressive eyes, Baquero makes an ideal if slightly milquetoast heroine. She’s nearly upstaged, however, by the far spunkier Verdu, whose skill with a blade makes for one of the film’s most satisfying (and least magical) scenes. As Vidal, the reliably creepy Lopez creates a complex, indelible and vaguely Freudian portrait of chauvinism and fascist mania run amok.

Guillermo Navarro ‘s cinematography bathes Caballero’s Goyan fantasy-scapes in a warm orange light while favoring a cool blue palette for the nighttime sequences. Javier Navarrete’s supple score proves extraordinarily subtle in conjuring a grim sense of wonder. Sound work is exemplary.

Spain - Mexico

• Production: A Picturehouse (in North America), Warner Bros. Pictures Intl. (Spain/Latin America), Pan-Europeenne (France) release of a Telecinco presentation of an Estudios Picasso/Tequila Gang/Esperanto Filmoj production. (International sales, Wild Bunch, Paris.) Produced by Guillermo del Toro, Bertha Navarro, Alfonso Cuaron, Frida Torresblanco, Alvaro Augustin. Directed, written by Guillermo del Toro.
• Crew: Camera (color), Guillermo Navarro; editor, Bernat Vilaplana; music, Javier Navarrete; production designer, Eugenio Caballero; costume designer, Lala Huete; sound (Dolby Digital/DTS), Miguel Polo; sound editor, Martin Hernandez; visual effects supervisor, Everett Burrell; special effects supervisor, Reyes Abades; special effects makeup, David Marti; assistant director, Jorge Calvo Gonzalez; casting, Sara Bilbatua. Reviewed at Cannes Film Festival (competing), May 27, 2006. Running time: 120 MIN.
• With: Vidal - Sergi Lopez Mercedes - Maribel Verdu Ofelia - Ivana Baquero Doctor - Alex Angulo Pan/Pale Man - Doug Jones Carmen - Ariadne Gil (Spanish dialogue)

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Pan’s Labyrinth Review

24 Nov 2006

120 minutes

Pan’s Labyrinth

Mexican-born director Guillermo Del Toro alternates projects on a ‘one for me, one for you’ basis, see-sawing between Spanish and English dialogue, and arthouse and multiplex releases. After his first feature Cronos, an unusual Mexican vampire movie, he followed up with Mimic, a generic American giant insect picture. Then The Devil’s Backbone, a ‘personal’ Spanish ghost story, was balanced by a populist franchise assignment, Blade II. Now, after comic-book picture Hellboy, Del Toro has delivered a more-than-worthy companion piece to his earlier Spanish film — indeed, this is his masterpiece to date, establishing him among the best filmmakers currently working at the top of their game.

Though it also has some narrative overlap with Víctor Erice’s classic The Spirit Of The Beehive (the one where the little girl thinks she’s befriended by Frankenstein’s Monster), Pan’s Labyrinth is almost a sister-film to The Devil’s Backbone. Again, a near-orphan child in dire peril from a darkly handsome, bad father figure during the upheavals caused by the Spanish Civil War is drawn into a magical world, which parallels an already-dangerous reality with its supernatural troubles but also provides a possible avenue of escape. In The Devil’s Backbone, the young hero was a boy (Fernando Tielve, who has a tiny cameo here) — but this time it’s a little girl, Ofelia (Ivana Baquero). We can see that she is clearly fated to be sucked into the world of her imaginings when she arrives in the middle of nowhere clutching a parcel of books filled with fairy tales.

Del Toro deliberately evokes classic children’s literature and film throughout. Ofelia is sometimes dressed up like Alice In Wonderland’s Victorian illustrations and finds herself drawn to a pagan Wonderland which has parallels with The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe (the little heroine’s guide in that was also a faun) and The Wizard Of Oz (lessons learned in dream must be applied in reality). There are even echoes of the old Jim Henson artefact Labyrinth, and curious parallels with the recent MirrorMask. But Pan’s Labyrinth works better as a movie than either, perhaps because it’s a rare fantasy that impresses in the ‘reality’ scenes as much as in its flights of imagination.

The goat-eyed, backwards-kneed faun offers intriguingly ambiguous revelations of the destiny Ofelia might fulfil, just so long as she follows orders. But he doesn’t necessarily mean what he says, and the example of the grown-up Fascists in Ofelia’s life suggests that blindly doing what she’s told at the expense of her conscience is the last course of action she should follow. So while there are trips into magical worlds, including a memorable encounter with a Clive-Barkerian spectre called The Pale Man which has loose folds of skin and eyeballs in its hands, Ofelia’s magical experiences don’t overwhelm the film.

Back in reality, Sergi López is a powerful presence as the saturnine Fascist stepfather, Vidal, equally (and neurotically) concerned with putting down the last resistance to Franco from the Nationalist partisans in the woods and ensuring the continuance of his line by having a son to take the significantly broken watch he inherited from his own soldier father. The meat of the story takes place here, where Vidal shows his true monstrousness and sundry locals try to funnel aid to the guerrillas.

This may deal with the stuff of children’s stories, but it is a tale for grown-ups. Several torture scenes are extraordinarily gruelling: by dwelling on Vidal’s ritual preparation for interrogation (and the set speech he delivers to demoralise victims before he starts using his implements), Del Toro somehow makes the scenes more uncomfortable than the full-on slicing and battering in, say, Hostel.

He makes sparing but always-impactful use of CGI, not only in the magical sequences (an encounter with a puffball of a giant toad, insect-like fairies) but in the more gruesome moments (the blood and booze soaking through the white bandage just applied over a sewn-up wound is a real cringe-maker). The home stretch is at once tragic and satisfying, with a killer of a send-off line, and no easy out as life and death, and reality and fantasy come crashing together.

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Pan's Labyrinth (2006)

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• DVD & Streaming

Pan’s Labyrinth

• Drama , Sci-Fi/Fantasy , War

Content Caution

In Theaters

• Ivana Baquero as Ofelia; Ariadna Gil as Carmen; Sergi López as Captain Vidal; Maribel Verdú as Mercedes; Álex Angulo as Dr. Ferreiro

Home Release Date

• Guillermo del Toro

Distributor

• Warner Bros.

Positive Elements   |   Spiritual Elements   |   Sexual & Romantic Content   |   Violent Content   |   Crude or Profane Language   |   Drug & Alcohol Content   |   Other Noteworthy Elements   | Conclusion

Movie Review

After her father dies in the Spanish Civil War, it’s understandable why the almost-adolescent Ofelia isn’t excited about moving with her pregnant mother to her new stepfather’s military outpost in the Spanish countryside. Once there, her dread is almost immediately confirmed with a cold, scolding greeting from him that shows the two females to be more of an interruption than welcomed family. Captain Vidal is more concerned about his troops weeding out guerilla fighters in the nearby woods than he is making his new daughter’s acquaintance. In fact, when it comes to family, the only thing that matters to him is the son his new wife is carrying.

Surrounded by the harsh, violent reality of a fascist government exterminating its opposition, Ofelia retreats to her fairy tale books. “You’re a bit too old to be filling your head with such nonsense,” her mother gently urges. Yet for Ofelia, it’s far from nonsense … especially when a dragonfly that’s been following her transforms into a fairy and leads her to a mystical world beneath a garden labyrinth. Once there, she meets an age-old faun who informs her that her real name is Princess Moanna and that she’s actually an immortal from the underworld. To reclaim her title and station, she must complete three dangerous tasks. To do that, she must look into the Book of Crossroads—the blank pages of which magically reveal her future.

Is this all really happening? Those around her think not. Mercedes, a kind servant assigned to watch over Ofelia, tells the girl that fairy tales are simply childish beliefs. The captain, meanwhile, harshly informs her, “Soon you’ll see that life is not like your fairy tales.” But it’s hard to dismiss it all as juvenile imagination when, after following the faun’s strange instructions to heal her sick mother, Ofelia and others watch the bedridden woman inexplicably gain strength.

Positive Elements

The thickly layered Pan’s Labyrinth reveals most of its light through extremely dark, tragic moments. At the heart of this wolf masquerading as a monster lies the idea that beauty, courage, love and truth can be found in the eyes of a child. Sometimes the only candle that stays lit in the midst of human depravity is the small flame of a child’s innocence.

Recognizing her mother’s depression and the fact that she has entered into a loveless marriage, Ofelia shares with her a strong bond. And she tries her best to watch over her ailing mom. Likewise, Ofelia and Mercedes form a sweet connection that’s only strengthened when the servant discovers that Ofelia knows a dangerous secret of hers. “I don’t want anything bad to happen to you,” the girl says honestly while assuring Mercedes that she’ll remain tight-lipped.

That secret? Mercedes and a doctor friend are helping the rebel fighters stay alive by supplying them with food and medicine. Once we discover the connection (one of the leaders is Mercedes’ brother), we watch as she and the doctor both put their lives on the line for the sake of keeping others safe.

Digging deeper into the story, Pan’s Labyrinth offers more subtle messages about the value of fearlessness and fighting for a just cause. In her fantasy world, Ofelia must face nightmarish beings and situations. Though she’s barely out of childhood, her bravery has—at least in that world—far-reaching ramifications.

[ Spoiler Warning ] Ofelia’s third task involves a life-or-death decision. She admirably risks giving up her throne and immortality (and even her own life) to keep her baby brother from being hurt. She’s roundly commended for not only refusing to shed innocent blood, but also for making the right—and moral—choice.

Spiritual Elements

The underlying fairy tale on which Ofelia’s journey is based mentions that the princess’ soul would return in another body. The faun, who describes himself as a nameless element of nature—”I am the mountain, the woods and the earth”—tells Ofelia she was born of the moon and, as the daughter of the king of the underworld, is “not of man.” In a story Ofelia tells her mother and unborn brother, she creates a rose that offers the promise of eternal life if plucked. She also tells Mercedes that “the woods are home to creatures full of magic and wonder.” Indeed, various magical elements are a storyline staple.

In a moving, deeply spiritual scene that invokes comparisons to God’s heavenly kingdom, a guide to the underworld instructs a newcomer to “go sit by the father’s side—he’s been waiting so long for you.” Here, there’s also some allegorical dialogue about the shedding of innocent blood to save an entire people.

But I can’t mention that scene without also relaying that God and the church are indirectly dismissed onscreen. Of what use have we, after all, of a God whose visible representation (a priest) blithely excuses men’s extermination by reasoning, “God has already saved their souls. What happens to their bodies doesn’t really matter to Him.”

Later, at a funeral, a priest intones, “The essence of [God’s] forgiveness lies in His word and in His mystery. Because although God sends us the message, it is our task to decipher it. Because when we open our arms, the earth takes in only a hollow and senseless shell. Far away now is the soul in its eternal glory. Because it is in pain that we find the meaning of life and the state of grace that we lose when we are born. Because God in His infinite wisdom puts the solution in our hands. And because it is only in His physical presence that the place He occupies in our souls is reaffirmed.”

Sexual & Romantic Content

In a non-sexual context we see Ofelia taking a bubble bath. (She’s shown from shoulders up.) We also glimpse the simplistically rendered nude forms of the small fairies as they flutter about.

Violent Content

Within the first 10 minutes of us meeting Captain Vidal, we watch as he calmly smashes in the face of a teenage boy and then shoots the lad’s father. That’s only the beginning of what amounts to a gory, extremely graphic war-meets-horror film. The harsh post-Civil War surroundings of 1944 Spain is the backdrop for firefights, ambushes and massive explosions. Scores of individuals (mostly soldiers) are gunned down and then shot repeatedly as troops rummage through the dead and injured.

[ Spoiler Warning ] In bloody and excruciating sequences, Captain Vidal is stabbed in the back and in the chest, then in the mouth. (We see the blade slicing in and out.) After the camera shows his open, dangling face wound a few times, it lingers as he painfully stitches up his cheek. Ofelia is shot.

One man takes a bullet in the eye. An injured rebel begs for his life but is mercilessly shot in the hand, then in the face. Another captive is hit hard in the face with one of many torture devices. After his first round of torture results in a mangled face and arm, he pleads with a doctor (who’s the compatriot), “Kill me, kill me now. Please.” With both men’s hands holding a syringe of an assumedly lethal substance, a close-up shows the injection.

After the same doctor decides a fighter’s wounded and infected leg must be amputated, we see a split-second shot of a saw blade digging into bone. Crudely drawn pictures of a bloodthirsty creature that devours babies depict this demonic-looking being impaling infants with a sword. In Ofelia’s fantasy world, his lair includes a massive pile of small bones, and we watch as he uses his jaws to rip fairies apart.

Ofelia bites her finger hard enough to draw the blood required for a mysterious remedy. Before and during giving birth, the girl’s mother is shown with blood saturating her robe and sheets.

Two other especially disturbing scenes are worth calling out: After finding Ofelia trying to escape, the captain violently shakes his daughter and hits her across the face. As he walks out he also threatens her life. In a separate instance, a fantasy creature that looks like a human baby is tossed in a fire, and its haunting screams of pain continue for some time as it slowly dies.

Crude or Profane Language

In subtitles, God’s name is misused at least twice; Jesus’ is abused once. The f-word is invoked four times, once in combination with “mother.” The s-word appears once or twice. Almost 20 other profanities are tossed in—mostly by the captain, who calls his daughter a “b–ch.”

Drug & Alcohol Content

Captain Vidal smokes cigarettes in several scenes and brags about having access to real tobacco. Mercedes steals some of it for her brother and his fellow soldiers. The captain frequently downs shots of hard liquor and pours a glass for Mercedes during a conversation. He and another character use alcohol to numb physical pain. A doctor orders Ofelia’s mother to take sleeping drops to ease her discomfort; Ofelia later uses the medicine against the captain.

Other Noteworthy Elements

A giant toad grotesquely vomits itself out of its own skin to reveal a valuable object for Ofelia.

Dreamlike with its dark creativity and littered with subtext, Pan’s Labyrinth is a Spanish-language nightmarish fairy tale that’s decidedly not for children. Even most adults won’t want to (and shouldn’t) indulge its grim excesses.

Just as the fairy tale medium began many centuries ago, there are no singing, dancing dwarfs or candy-covered gingerbread houses to be found here. Those age-old fables were originally intended to keep both children and grown-ups in check using fear. This story seeks the same result—in reverse. By that I mean that it seeks to keep people from submitting to what can sometimes be mindless checks by filling them with the fear of what happens when you don’t think for yourself. (Fascist ideals carry the day, for instance.)

Instead of juxtaposing a beautiful imaginary world with a horrific real one to illustrate how bad things have gotten for Ofelia, writer/director Guillermo del Toro (who helmed Hellboy and Blade II ) masterfully parallels Ofelia’s ghastly reality with an equally terrifying and ghostly fantasy. The monsters she faces in the ripped-apart wonderland she enters serve as reflections of the ones she interacts with above ground—most prominently, her callous and cruel stepfather.

“I have been fascinated by fairy tales and the mechanics at work in them since my early childhood,” del Toro explains. “I have enjoyed reading the original versions of Grimm’s Fairy Tales and have always found that the form itself lends easily to deeply disturbing images. Hans Christian Andersen and Oscar Wilde, in fact, have some tales of thinly veiled S&M, full of horrific and brutal moments.”

With that in mind, the Mexican filmmaker set out to disturb audiences with horrific and brutal moments . The result is a Saw -meets- Narnia -like film that includes intensely graphic and nauseating violence. Del Toro’s unspoken argument is that, to create the effect of humans as monstrous and unfeeling as the beasts that reside in the labyrinth, such atrocities must be shown rather than just hinted at.

That endure-for-the-message approach is somewhat plausible in theory. But when moviegoers begin to notice how much the camera seems to enjoy every gaping gunshot wound and flesh-ripping knifing, it gradually becomes less convincing. And by the time the lens zooms in—and camps out—as the captain takes a needle and thread to his own decimated face, it seems the method has lost all reason.

There’s a not-so-fine line between scorning the darkness of humanity and reveling in it. For all the film’s well-deserved accolades—and indeed, it is as well-made, thought-provoking and creative a fantasy/war/horror film as you’ll find— Pan’s Labyrinth smears that boundary just about as frequently as Ofelia crosses back and forth between fact and fiction.

Marcus Yoars

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V/h/s beyond review: found-footage franchise goes extraterrestrial in gloriously gory sequel [fantastic fest], one of the year’s scariest movies lands on shudder next week.

Pan's Labyrinth is the most beautiful and exquisite film I have seen in the last few years. Guillermo Del Toro has crafted a masterpiece of cinema that slowly bends reality into fantasy. The film is about a young girl named Ofelia who is living in post-war Spain. Her father has died and now she and her pregnant mother are traveling into the country to live with the prestigious Captain Vidal, whom her mother has now remarried with. Captain Vidal is introduced in an early scene as a barbaric murderer who is only interested in Ofelia's mother to bear his child so that his son can grow up with his name. Ofelia escapes into a world of fantasy and horror that is equally as disturbing as the real life events going on around her with the war. There are two parallel storylines in the film. The one that deals with Ofelia in the world of the labyrinth and the storyline with Vidal dealing with revolutionaries who live in the mountains.

The brilliant part of the film is that Del Toro juxtaposes Ofelia's world with the real world. For example, in one part of the film Ofelia must encounter a creature who has eyes in his hands, and even though he sits in front of long table of food he still craves innocent children and innocent creatures. Directly before this scene we see Captain Vidal hosting a giant dinner party where he sits at the head of the table. It's symbolism at its finest. Credit also has to go the superb art direction, make up and visual effects that transport the audience into Ofelia's world. The make up on the faun that instructs Ofelia to complete the tasks is unbelievable. The film takes us deep into the darkest part of the human realm and sends us on an unforgettable journey. Javier Naverette's beautiful score plays a huge role in creating the world of Pan's Labyrinth . I honestly believe it would be a crime if he does not win at the Oscars. He is the only composer nominated worthy of the statue.

Ivana Baquero is absolutely stunning in this film as Ofelia. She plays the character beautifully and makes the audience care for her every step of the way. The supporting cast is just as good. Sergi Lopez makes a very convincing and evil Captain Vidal. I think Vidal should be considered as one of the better screen villains in last decade. Credit also should be given to Doug Jones who plays the faun also known as Pan. Jones is one of the better known costume actors in Hollywood and previously worked with Del Toro on Hellboy. He even learned a little Spanish for the role.

The film medium was created specifically for films like this. Pan's Labyrinth is a rare masterpiece that will stand the test of time. Nothing about the film is unoriginal, it stands on its own as one of the most original pieces of filmmaking in recent memory. I know the film isn't playing at every theater, but every effort should be made to go out of your way to see it. A film that will stay with you long after you see it, it truly must be experienced.

• Movie and TV Reviews
• pan's labyrinth (2006)

The Power of Fear: Reflections on “Pan’s Labyrinth”

This piece was originally published on December 7, 2016 and is being republished for Women Writers Week.

It was two weeks after the election and I was walking the National Mall with my boyfriend to see “ Arrival ” at the National Air and Space Museum. We passed groups of students and tourists chattering in a multitude of languages. We passed children giggling on the carousel in front of Smithsonian Castle. We passed three Black women and Jehovah’s Witnesses, who were handing out magazines. A perverse nostalgia for the apocalyptic cult in which I was raised seized me and I stopped to ask for one. One of the women handed me a Watchtower with a pleasantly surprised smile and I went on my way. As we were about to reach the museum steps the weather turned in that sudden way late fall has and we were nearly taken off our feet by a gust of wind. It darkened the clouds and the slivers of blue sky faded to a dull bronze. And then the Fear came again. 

The all-encompassing fear that has been at the back of my mind since the early morning hours of November 9th howled down. I wanted to kneel on the museum steps and sob. Sob for myself, for my country, for the women who had given me the magazine, for the children riding wooden horses with bridles painted gold. I am terrified of the beast that revealed itself that day and in the days since. The parade of hatred from people all too visibly going “at last.”  Those who savor every hurled epithet and hate crime like a bon bon they’ve been deprived of for too long. I stood on the steps shivering and wanted to hold all the people we’d passed in my arms, keep them safe, and hide them from what’s coming. And then I remembered a movie, one with lessons that I hoped to never apply so literally in dealing with the gathering shadow of fascism. “Pan’s Labyrinth” had saved my life several years before so I could only be grateful it had the power to do so again. 

I was not in a good way when I first saw “Pan’s Labyrinth,” in the early spring of 2007. My bi-polar mood swings had left me with scattered piles of paper that did not materialize into finished projects. I had a string of failures in attempts at college and employment at dead-end retail spots which would last until my self-sabotaging behavior would finally have its way and I’d start missing shifts for the hell of it. I remembered a young woman who looked like me who had wanted to see the world and write and make movies. The colors around me had faded and I’d only had what came in the mail from Netflix or a trip to the movies with my dad to look forward to. I don’t remember why exactly I went to see “Pan’s Labyrinth” by myself that afternoon. I knew its director, Guillermo del Toro, had done “ Cronos ” and “The Devil’s Backbone,” but those were movies the young me had watched, the one who devoured books and magazines and kept running lists of movies to track down at the library and video stores. 

I settled in to watch “ Pan's Labyrinth .” When the end credits finished rolling, I walked into the lobby, bought a ticket for the next showing, and walked back in. I would have seen it a third time but that was the last showing of the day. On my way home, I stopped by a drugstore and picked up a notebook and spent most of the night writing in it. I wanted to get it all down, everything the movie made me feel. I wanted to remember the colors. I was drunk on them. The ripe reds of blood and royal robes. The blue chill of death and the gloaming that connects the worlds of mortals with the magical underground. The mineral greens that kept popping up in places like a dress, the tree trunk-like torso of a creature, and insect-like fairies, tying them together as emissaries of the natural world and its ancient magic. How green drew a circle around the heroine, protecting her from the industrialized violence of warfare and fascism represented by her monstrous stepfather. I had woken up and I wanted to cry for what my life had become, but I didn’t want waste tears on self-pity. I had a lot of books and writing to catch up on. 

It’s the seemingly simplest stories that can transform you the most. The genius of “Pan’s Labyrinth” lives in the elegant construction of its fable. Once upon a time, there lived a young girl named Ofelia ( Ivana Baquero ). This was during the time of the Spanish Civil War and she and her heavily pregnant mother ( Ariadna Gil ) are going to meet her stepfather (Sergi López) in the country. Her stepfather is an officer in Franco’s army, and while he keeps busy torturing local rebel fighters, Ofelia explores the woods around the estate. Ofelia stumbles across the ruins of a mysterious stone maze. There, a Faun ( Doug Jones ) recognizes her as the long-missing Princess Moana. She is to complete a series of tasks before the next full moon. If she fails, she will be unable to return to her underground kingdom. 

I had led myself to believe that my old self was dead when she was just resting until she was needed again. “Pan’s Labyrinth” is full of images of birth and rebirth and the coming changes of puberty as Ofelia is on the cusp of young womanhood. It’s a film about the power of claiming your own narrative rather than the role society, mortal or magical, would force on you. It’s a film about how the stories we tell can make sense of the senseless. Joan Didion wrote, “We tell ourselves stories in order to live.” Del Toro ’s wisdom is in showing that we tell ourselves stories in order to die too; to try to approach death without fear, or at the least with an acceptance that flows back to living our lives with purpose. That we are not helpless and seeking one stimulus after the other to distract ourselves from the nightmare around us. Del Toro’s princess saves herself and learns the vital lesson to always question, to refuse to follow orders out of cowed obedience, even as the lesson costs her deeply. The most important ones always do. And yet their rewards are almost as great. The stories we tell matter. 

And yet I know stories cannot save my life from the harm others do. Stories could not save Ofelia’s life in the end, even if they gave it meaning and purpose. And in these awful times there is more than comfort in that, there is power. What I remembered on the steps of the museum is that lesson I learned long ago, that labyrinths are for safekeeping. They are the spaces that wind inside us where we can hide the good parts of ourselves away during times of trouble so they will not be lost, where we can remember a fragment of song or a brush stroke of a painting that moved us and moves us still. 

I remembered the details of that walk to the museum, every leaf, every rustle of coats as a group of teenagers ran by laughing, and I hid it in the chambers of my heart. And I went in to see “Arrival,” a story about pressing on even if you know the ending will break your heart. And I filed it away too, in the quiet, cool spaces of my mind—the spaces where moss grows softly and there’s the sound of running water. These are places no madman, no political system, and no hatred can touch. We are not promised “ Happily Ever After ” by life. Death comes in one form or another. But the importance of masterpieces like “Pan’s Labyrinth” is they can help us shift the terrors of our daily lives into fantasy and then back again, giving us the ability to face them. I remember the shiver that ran up my spine at the first appearance of the Faun in the theater and how unbidden the tang of freshly dug earth came to me. That memory doesn’t make me want to hide from what’s coming, it makes me want to fight. To preserve a world where magnificent stories like “Pan’s Labyrinth” are possible. 

Jessica Ritchey

Jessica Ritchey is a writer based in the orbit between Washington D.C. and Baltimore. She credits a VHS copy of “Singin’ in the Rain” as her introduction to a love of movies.

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Movie Review: Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)

• General Disdain
• Movie Reviews
• 8 responses
• --> February 22, 2007

As a lonely child, I gravitated towards Dungeons & Dragons and have always been intrigued with fantasy worlds and the creatures that inhabit them. So finally, after seeing and hearing all the hoopla surrounding Pan’s Labyrinth or should I say “El Laberinto del Fauno” (real Spanish title), I finally got up the nerve to get off of my fat ass and see it. I must say, it wasn’t what I expected.

What I expected was a dark, foreboding fairy tale — basically a 180-degree turn from “ The Chronicles of Narnia .” I instead, got a dark, foreboding story about people escaping a fascist regime in Spain (either through imagination or rebellion), headed by one sick, sadistic fucker. It is in these minor escapes, that the story and the moral of Pan’s Labyrinth is told. More evil world, less fantasy realm. Pity.

The good: The acting. Strong performances abound from people you’ve never heard of. The cruel Capitain Vidal is acted brilliantly by Sergi López. His portrayal of a power-hungry, psychopath rivals one the best sociopath portrayals ever — Anthony Hopkins as Dr. Hannibal Lecter in “The Silence of the Lambs.” I found myself cringing at the actions and heartlessness of this creature. Total disdain for his countrymen, his family (except newborn son), even himself. Ivana Baquero, plays the charming and innocent Ofelia. Her wide-eyed wonder of all things, even during times of monstrous distress, was truly something to applaud. It is a crime that older folks have lost the ability to see beyond the walls and are mired in the mess they call their lives. The inner child should never be lost or forgotten. I’ve asked that I get shot up with a lethal dose of methadone the moment I become one of the drones.

The bad. Pan’s Labyrinth looks like it was shot for $150. That in itself isn’t bad, as it great to see what can be created on a limited budget, but the creatures encountered by Ofelia looked like people in bad costumes. I guess I’m just so used to the seemingly limitless ability of computers to produce awe inspiring CGI, that the simple things are now lost on me. Shame on me. The movie also seemed to drag in places. Especially where it shouldn’t drag — during Ofelia’s forays into the magical world. The three tasks bequested to her, almost seemed to be an afterthought. While I should expect action and vivid imagery, I was left with 20 second escapades; just as quickly as the scene started, it ended.

When all is said and done though, I am still going to recommend Pan’s Labyrinth for your viewing pleasure. The story is well told and conceived. You will actually feel sorrow for everyone who comes in contact with the Captain and feel strength in Ofelia when she tries to save herself and her newborn brother from the evils of the world. By the end of the movie, you’ll be actively trying to find your connection with the fairies you pushed away so many years ago. There is no shame in it.

Tagged: Army , creatures , princess , Spain

I'm an old, miserable fart set in his ways. Some of the things that bring a smile to my face are (in no particular order): Teenage back acne, the rain on my face, long walks on the beach and redneck women named Francis. Oh yeah, I like to watch and criticize movies.

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'Movie Review: Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)' have 8 comments

February 28, 2007 @ 2:47 pm Aaron P.

Interesting take on things, although I whole heartedly disagree with you. Looks like the Academy disagreed with you on all your bad points too.

It won for: Best Achievement in Makeup; Best Achievement in Cinematography; Best Achievement in Art Direction

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February 28, 2007 @ 4:09 pm General Disdain

They can disagree and so can you Aaron. Doesn’t mean they are right. Afterall, the definition of a critic is:

1. One who specializes especially professionally in the evaluation and appreciation of literary or artistic works. 2. One who tends to make harsh or carping judgments; a faultfinder.

I’m not a professional by any meaning of the word, but I do fancy myself as a person who can make informed evaluations. I’m also a damn good faultfinder!

July 21, 2007 @ 6:50 am Skinny

Even if it didn’t have a huge budget and very expensive CGI effects, it was still a very beautiful movie.

January 3, 2008 @ 6:21 am Genevieve

It makes me nervous how much other people want me to like the film. I just looked at someone else’s critical review and people were making personal insults. Whew! While the acting was superb, I found the tone of the film overtly simplified, the violence excessive, some of the characters, one dimensional and the magical incidents skimpy. I can understand how del Toro was trying to underscore the message of war and fascism operates. For instance the Captain is not simply the leader of his troops; he is the leader of the home. His masculine presence is downright menacing to the pregnant, bed ridden mother and her preteen daughter. Also the message of selflessness was admirable. Ivana Basquero and Maribel Verdú steal the meaty parts of the film but their foils- Ariadna Gil as the weak willed mother and Sergi López i Ayats as the sadistic Captain/father- don’t contrast that well. Ariadna Gil’s character, little more than a weak, pregnant woman, carries less cinematic strength than Verdu who gives a solid performance as the compassionate and mothering housekeeper. And the contrast between Basquero and Sergi Lopez seems almost unfair and overtly simplified- she is innocent, female and vulnerable and he is corrupted, male and violent. She never seems to have a shot at defeating him or dismantling his empire (unless you consider martyrdom). It was also somewhat disturbing to see a child as the protagonist where violence seemed to be the currency of the film.

The film unnerved me because of the violence done to the young girl; she seemed to be an abused child. I didn’t really this was supposed to connect me to the greater struggle on hand.

February 9, 2010 @ 8:13 am donovan

I can agree with skinny’s point. Despite its lack of budget it came across as a great movie!

The big thing with this movie is the atmosphere surrounding the plot and storyline that give it its presence as a movie. Its a movie that wound itself to be a great movie and met that expectation due to its actors abilities to portray each of the characters and their roles.

March 11, 2010 @ 3:18 am Kate The Portrait Artist

This movie was a visual delight I couldn’t disagree more with the review! I guess all this CGI stuff has numbed our senses. A beautiful piece of cinema with an asborbing narrative and atmosphere.

March 28, 2010 @ 10:50 am getmepleasure

I quite enjoyed this movie personally, i think kate makes a good point about CGI numbing our perspective on movies now as graphics and special effects are what a lot of us crave in a movie to enjoy it as opposed to a plot line taking more of the lime light.

Thanks for sharing.

July 28, 2010 @ 4:17 am Lynne

My husband and I absolutely adore Pans Labyrinth, it’s one of the most superb films ever made, acted brilliantly as you say by the Sergei Lopez, and not alll what we expected, far better. The fact that it looks like it was made very cheaply doesnt hinder it at all for me.

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Pan’s Labyrinth

By Peter Travers

Peter Travers

Guillermo del Toro, who calls himself “the geek from Guadalajara,” fires up a classic cinematic fantasy in Pan’s Labyrinth , a film for all ages, as long as they’re open to gothic twists that scare them senseless. Del Toro is just one of the three amigos showing our local boys how it’s done. Mexico City’s Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu cemented his reputation with Babel , the completion of a trilogy he began with Amores Perros and 21 Grams . Not to be outdone, Alfonso Cuaron, also from Mexico City and a producer of Pan’s Labyrinth , follows up Y Tu Mama Tambien and the only memorable Harry Potter film ( The Prisoner of Azkaban ) with another knockout, Children of Men .

Still, it’s del Toro, 42, the gore master behind Hellboy and Blade II , who springs the biggest surprise. Pan’s Labyrinth , horrific and heartfelt in the way it sees the trauma of war through the eyes of a little girl, is some kind of great movie. Nothing in del Toro’s previous work, except his little-seen 2001 ghost story, The Devil’s Backbone , prepares you for the impact of watching harsh reality and harsher fantasy bleed into each other. To hail Pan’s Labyrinth for its visionary ravishments is hardly to do it justice. You leave del Toro’s one-of-a-kind film feeling you’ve never seen the world before, not like this, not with such aching beauty and terror in the service of obliterating barriers of time, place, genre and language.

Set in the Madrid countryside in 1944 after the Spanish Civil War, when Generalissimo Francisco Franco and his repressive fascist guard attempted to quell rebel uprisings, the film makes no attempt to hide or soften the brutality of the period. If del Toro is the wizard of this surreal Oz, then Ofelia, played with resilient spirit and dark-eyed loveliness by eleven-year-old Ivana Baquero, is his Dorothy. As the film opens, Ofelia and her mother, Carmen (Ariadna Gil), have arrived at a garrison commanded by Captain Vidal (Sergi Lopez). Vidal is a sadistic monster, unaware that his housekeeper, Mercedes (Maribel Verdu, touching and vital), is aiding the guerrillas he executes with cold-blooded abandon. Ofelia hates him, which is too bad, since Vidal is her new stepfather and her beloved mother is carrying his baby.

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Ofelia’s only solace is in the fairy tales she reads with devouring obsession. When her mother falls ill, Ofelia retreats into a fantasy world that mirrors the ferocity outside. She finds a garden labyrinth ruled by Pan (Doug Jones of Hellboy ), a tall, goatish creature with menacing horns who sets her a series of tasks that have dire consequences if she can’t complete them. There is also the Giant Toad and the shuddery Pale Man (also Jones), who holds his bulging eyes in his hands. With the help of production designer Eugenio Caballero and the superb cinematographer Guillermo Navarro, del Toro uses puppets, prosthetics and computer-generated images to create a haunting parallel universe where Ofelia can exert at least some control.

Still, it’s the perils of the real world that Ofelia must confront at last in the person of Vidal, the spirit of fascism incarnate. Lopez is brilliant in the role, taking screen villainy to new levels by showing how a cruel ideology can contort the human into the bestial. Del Toro never coddles the audience. He means for us to leave Pan’s Labyrinth shaken to our souls. He succeeds triumphantly.

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