Raquelle Pan's Labyrinth(2006): not a kid's film!
November 20th 2008 01:49
If you haven’t seen Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) yet, I am here to tell you you should – regardless of any reservations you may have.
I up until recently thought it was a children’s fantasy film, that I was too grown up to watch. Boy, was I wrong!
Pan’s Labyrinth succeeds in its unique form of storytelling crossing and delightfully weaving the fantasy genre with horror and psychological thriller. It’s a very unsettling film, exploring dark subject matters and grotesque gratuitous images. Which, with some irony, and consequently in stark contrast to my original hesitations to watch this film, actually propelled me to like this film for what it isn’t rather than what it is.
Set in five years after the end of Spanish Civil War 1944, 10-year-old Ofelia (Ivana Baquero) is forced to travel to Navarra with her delicate, pregnant mother Carmen, to live with her cold-blooded stepfather and Fascist, Captain Vidal (Sergi López), who is under orders to rid the territory of rebels. Ofelia, meets an ancient faun who claims to know her true identity and her secret destiny. She accepts a challenge – to complete three tasks before the moon grows full. In the meantime rebel resistance grows stronger, her welfare and that of what’s left of her family weakens and violence and murder are matched with the resilience and ruthlessness of her new fascination – the Labyrinth.
I think that the real craft of filmmaking is the ability to take your audience on a journey without them knowing the slightest intention of where and what will happen, whilst trusting what they see and hear throughout, unquestioning, just awe-inspiring joy of the living the story and the journey. And that’s why Pan’s Labyrinth succeeds so darn well.
Written and Directed by Guillermo del Toro (Hellboy, Blade II), the film received a 22 minutes standing ovation when it premiered in Cannes in 2006, and picked up Academy Award for Best Achievement in Art Direction, Cinematography and Makeup in 2007 (also nominated for best foreign film).
Del Toro stated that, along with Hellboy, this was his most personal project. He has called Pan's Labyrinth a spiritual sequel to The Devil's Backbone (2001), a Mexican/Spanish gothic horror film, also set during the Spanish Civil War, and independently produced by Pedro Almodóvar.
Del Toro says he was "scared shitless" in casting the right actress for the lead role, and that finding the 10-year-old Spanish actress was purely accidental. In his favor, del Toro couldn’t have sourced a better cast, the acting skills in this Spanish-speaking film is top of the ranks. Ivana Baquero is mesmerizing and is strongly supported by a very very talented cast. It’s refreshing to see each and every actor stretched in their roles in this film, and a rare treat. Sergio Lopez especially succeeds in his brutally powerful portrayal as the evil stepfather and ruthless officer.
I actually don’t have anything negative to say about this film, but will light upon dubious reviews I have heard since watching the film. While the hardest part in storytelling, I think, is concluding the story satisfactorily, there are mixed feelings about whether Pan’s should have ended the way it did. Keeping in the theme of the story, I do not think it could have ended differently, and sometimes it’s a brave move to go against commercial decision-making. In some ways, its ending is quite triumphant.
I guarantee you will enjoy this film. It’s a unique, poetic masterpiece.
I up until recently thought it was a children’s fantasy film, that I was too grown up to watch. Boy, was I wrong!
Pan’s Labyrinth succeeds in its unique form of storytelling crossing and delightfully weaving the fantasy genre with horror and psychological thriller. It’s a very unsettling film, exploring dark subject matters and grotesque gratuitous images. Which, with some irony, and consequently in stark contrast to my original hesitations to watch this film, actually propelled me to like this film for what it isn’t rather than what it is.
Set in five years after the end of Spanish Civil War 1944, 10-year-old Ofelia (Ivana Baquero) is forced to travel to Navarra with her delicate, pregnant mother Carmen, to live with her cold-blooded stepfather and Fascist, Captain Vidal (Sergi López), who is under orders to rid the territory of rebels. Ofelia, meets an ancient faun who claims to know her true identity and her secret destiny. She accepts a challenge – to complete three tasks before the moon grows full. In the meantime rebel resistance grows stronger, her welfare and that of what’s left of her family weakens and violence and murder are matched with the resilience and ruthlessness of her new fascination – the Labyrinth.
Written and Directed by Guillermo del Toro (Hellboy, Blade II), the film received a 22 minutes standing ovation when it premiered in Cannes in 2006, and picked up Academy Award for Best Achievement in Art Direction, Cinematography and Makeup in 2007 (also nominated for best foreign film).
Del Toro stated that, along with Hellboy, this was his most personal project. He has called Pan's Labyrinth a spiritual sequel to The Devil's Backbone (2001), a Mexican/Spanish gothic horror film, also set during the Spanish Civil War, and independently produced by Pedro Almodóvar.
Del Toro says he was "scared shitless" in casting the right actress for the lead role, and that finding the 10-year-old Spanish actress was purely accidental. In his favor, del Toro couldn’t have sourced a better cast, the acting skills in this Spanish-speaking film is top of the ranks. Ivana Baquero is mesmerizing and is strongly supported by a very very talented cast. It’s refreshing to see each and every actor stretched in their roles in this film, and a rare treat. Sergio Lopez especially succeeds in his brutally powerful portrayal as the evil stepfather and ruthless officer.
I actually don’t have anything negative to say about this film, but will light upon dubious reviews I have heard since watching the film. While the hardest part in storytelling, I think, is concluding the story satisfactorily, there are mixed feelings about whether Pan’s should have ended the way it did. Keeping in the theme of the story, I do not think it could have ended differently, and sometimes it’s a brave move to go against commercial decision-making. In some ways, its ending is quite triumphant.
I guarantee you will enjoy this film. It’s a unique, poetic masterpiece.
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Comment by Movie Mall
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The Invisible Sky
Thought there'd be more of the fantasy kind of stuff in it, but the 'real' story, with the real monster Vidal, was just so powerful anyway it made up for it.
MM
Comment by Cibbuano
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