Spain in 1944 is covered by gloomy night and opaque noon, particularly in Navarra Hill, where the battle seems never end and the gunpowder smoke smells everywhere. It has been 5 years since the civil war ends, but the tension of fear never goes away, especially for 11 year old girl named Ofelia (Ivana Baquero). She stays with her pregnant mother (Ariadna Gill), and her stepfather, the ruthless Kapitan Vidal (Sergi Lopez) who fights against the rebellion. Until she finds out the “true”, the “fact” that she is the lost Princess Moana from fairy tale.
And this “truth” forces the audience to decide: do we believe this dreamland full of a faun, monsters, and fairies? Or, do we follow adult’s reason and think that the underworld is just a way for a little girl to escape from the cruelty of life? Your decision will determine whether the film has a happy or sad ending. Nonetheless, the director, Guillermo del Toro drags us to agree with him: the real world is more sadistic than any monster imagined by anyone.
And he chose unique storytelling. Common people usually ask: “what genre is it? Drama or fantasy, or mixed genre? Who is the target audience? Children (because of the fairy tale) or adult (because of the realistic violence). But, those kinds of questions are not valid, since the director is not into formulaic genre but rather to movement and style.
The film tells a story about the magical adventure of Ophelia. In the middle inhuman battle, she was assigned by Pan the Faun to complete 3 complicated tasks, as requirements for her coming back as a Royal Princess. Those tasks are exams for her since she went out and got lost for experiencing “…blue skies, soft breeze, and sunshine”, despite she lived in, according to Pan, “…the underground realm, where there are no lies or pain”. So, the Alice in Wonderland spirit begins. Beside Pan (Doug Johnson), Mercedes the maid (Maribel Verdu) also plays an important role.
So, it is up to you, the audience, whether you want to buy discourses served by the Faun, or believe that those are just tales from a girl who wants to escape from unfriendly reality
Title: Pan’s Labyrinth
Original Title: Laberinto del Fauno
Year: 2006
Director: Guillermo del Toro.
Cast: Ivana Baquero, Sergi López, Maribel Verdú, Doug Jones, Ariadna Gil
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