Film: Pan's Labyrinth

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This is the first time I have seen a film directed by Guillermo del Toro, it will certainly not be the last. The Devil's Backbone comes highly recommended, so that will be going on the to-hire list.

This is a tale of a young girl growing up during the Spanish Civil war, her mother is widowed and now married to a brutal captain of the fascist regime. It is to the captain's base deep in the woods of northern Spain that the young girl, Ofelia, comes to live with her pregnant mother.

Life there is grim and terrifying for such a young girl, but she has the labyrinth to which she can escape. She is told on her first visit that she is really a princess and must complete three tasks in order to return to her true parents and gain immortality.

Moving between the world of war and the world of the labyrinth is handled beautifully by del Toro, both worlds are visually wonderful and the performances of the cast excellent. Civil war and fantasy do not sound like comfortable bedfellows, but this film is produced with such skill and precision that they become utterly complimentary.

Ultimately we are left with a nagging doubt of where the line between reality, and the fantastical imaginings of a frightened young girl actually lies. At the end of the film you feel momentarily uplifted, only to have hope removed by your own thoughts of what you have really seen. A tragic but wonderful film.

Comments

Anonymous said…
I haven't had a chance to see this yet and probably won't for some time but the trailer looked very interesting and Guillermo del Toro is definitely the man. His films aren't always great (Mimic!) but they're always interesting. Cronos is good and Blade II is the best Blade film by far. Also, his commentary on Blade II is very interesting. A director who doesn't always work well when expected to be commercial.
11 December, 2006 22:08
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