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film: El Laberinto del Fauon
(Pan's Labyrinth)
director: Guillermo del Toro
cast: Ivana Baquero, Doug Jones, Sergi Lopez
Picture House / 2006 / 112 Min
score: 91
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Winner: Cinematgraphy / Art Direction
First and foremost, this film was robbed of the Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars this year.
With that said, "El Laberinto del Fauon (Pan's Labyrinth)" is the masterpiece from the mind of
Guillermo del Toro. He is writer, director and producer of the film. It is the movie he was
born to make. It tells the story of a young girl named Ofelia who travels with her mother to her
new step father's home in the country in the midst of the Spanish Civil War. Her step father is
the vicious Captain Vidal (Sergi Lopez) who is trying to combat rebels by any means necessary.
Vidal's motives for marrying are not known right away, but he's a creep. But I digress.
Ofelia lives in her books. So when she sees a ferry in the woods, she believes this ground she
now lives on is enchanted. The ferry takes her into the garden Labyrinth where she meets Pan,
a fawn who does not make his clear intentions known. Pan tells Ofelia that she is the
reincarnated spirit of the underground princess, and in order to return to her thrown she must
complete three tasks. I can't say anymore because it will give away the movie, but needless to
say it's an adventure. Masterfully written and directed by del Toro, "Pan's Labyrinth" is a work
of genius in every sense of the word. The acting is also superb, especially Doug Jones who plays
Pan and the mysterious Pale-Man. Jones not only went through grueling makeup sessions, but he
also learned Spanish and memorized the Spanish script to make his performance more authentic.
And the cinematography is breathtaking; it is absolutely beautiful.
This movie is not for kids, this is a grown up fantasy. "Pan's" earns its "R" rating for violence
and language. This is a movie for grown ups who still enjoy fantasy films, but long for them to
have more adult themes. This is that movie. Pan's won three Academy Awards (Makeup, Art Direction
and Cinematography) and deservedly so. This is what movies are all about.
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