Pan's Labrynth

Watching the trailer for Pan’s Labyrinth provides a glimpse of the imagery of the film, but it does not adequately convey the impact. I recommend seeing this film without any particular expectations. Take it in, enjoy, digest, and then respond.

The scene is a military camp set up in an old mill surrounded by a rebel army in a wooded area somewhere in Spain in the 1940’s. The protagonist is Ofelia, a young girl—oh, about 10 or 11 years old—whose mother is pregnant with the child of a sadistic, hard-hearted captain in Franco’s army. Nearby is the labyrinth which appears as an ancient stone structure overgrown with vegetation. It is within this labyrinth that Ofelia, who with the help of various fairies and a satyr, begins her fantastic journey as a reincarnated princess from an underworld kingdom. Her quest is to fulfill three tasks which upon their completion will enable her to return to immortality and a life without pain or sorrow.

Like Terry Gilliam’s Brazil, this film is about escaping into a realm of fantasy during very harsh and cruel times. The movie is allegorical in that it represents our use of dreams and fantasy to escape the harsh realities of this world.

This movie also makes a very strong comment about blind obedience. The soldiers blindly follow orders; the fascists try to define right and wrong as the willingness to obey or not. Without giving too much away, I will risk saying the Ofelia herself is put to a test to see whether she blindly obeys or listens to her innate sense of right and wrong.

It is also a movie that extols courage. Under the nose of “El Cap-i-tan” his doctor and one of his servants secretly aid the rebels at great risk to themselves. They both prove their bravery to the end (which I won’t reveal). Their courage is paralleled by Ofelia’s in her quest to accomplish the tasks assigned to her. Though her obstacles are merely child’s fantasies, they are quite scary. As she says to a rather gargantuous and potentially child-eating frog, “I’m not afraid of you!”

For me, the movie was well put together. Whatever combination of directing, set design, acting, post-production, and whatever it takes to make a film work, it worked well for me. After about 10 minutes into the film, I even forgot that I was watching Spanish-speaking actors and reading English subtitles. The film had a unique style which was interesting and different.

Like some other new-genre movies such as The Forgotten and Children of Men, special effects are used sparingly and effectively. It is not about “look at the cool things we can do with computers,” but rather about special effects that contribute to the overall look and story line.

Also, the soundtrack is one of the best I've heard since the soundtrack for The Mission. You can hear various tracks on the official web site http://www.panslabyrinth.com. Find the link Interact, and then the link Soundtrack.

I will not call this an “art film,” but it is in my opinion a work of art.