Pans Labyrinth
Running Time: 119 minutes
MPAA rating: R
Language: Spanish (with English subtitles)
Pans Labyrinth is director Guillermo del Toros masterpiece. A visually stunning, intelligent foray into the madness of fascism and the story of a little girl whose fantasy world is a dark mirror of the horrors of Francos Spain and its affect on her family.
The film takes place in 1944 at the dawn of Francos regime. A 10-year-old girl, Ofelia (Ivana Baquero), and her mother travel to an old mill the site of their new home. The mother has remarried and is pregnant with the child of Captain Vidal (Sergi López), a sadistic soldier who has the job of exterminating the last vestiges of the Resistance.
To escape the oppressiveness of her home, little Ofelia escapes into the forest near the mill, where she awakens a fawn. He tells her that she is the long-lost Princess Moanna. She must reclaim her throne by performing three tasks before the moon becomes full. Each of the tasks increases in difficulty, and with each task Ofelia encounters creatures more fantastic and horrible than the last.
What makes Pans Labyrinth such a compelling film is the way del Toro keeps us guessing. Does the fantasy world actually exist, or is it only the delusion of a tortured child?
This is a beautifully crafted psychological drama that still maintains the trappings of a fantasy film. That del Toro can juggle the two genres while still delivering a commentary on the current political climate by showing us its historical allegory is a stunning achievement.
GRADE: A