Stewart
Active Member
I went along to see Pan's Labyrinth with the intention of seeing a Gothic fairy tale for adults a notion entertained from having seen the trailer previously in the week. I was surprised to find that while the film's fantasy elements seem to be its selling point, these were few and far between and the actual film was a bleak wartime tale with minor fantasy tendencies.
Set five years after the Spanish Civil War, Ofelia and her mother move to rural Spain to be with Capitán Vidal, Ofelia's adoptive father and committed Francoist. In their new rural home, Ofelia's mother, Carmen, is due to give birth to Ofelia's brother as Vidal believes a son should be born where his father is. But all around the encampment, the Spanish rebels are hiding amongst the trees, and proving harder to rid than first thought.
While Vidal attempts to hunt down the loyalists, Ofelia finds herself escaping from the horrors around her into the worlds of her fairy tale books. One night an insect transforms into a fairy and leads her to a disused labyrinth where he suggests she may be Princess Moanna, lost to the underworld, and suggests she perform three tasks in order to be back with her real parents, the King and Queen. The brutalities of war go on around Ofelia as she attempts the tasks, until they real and fantasy worlds collide with devastating circumstances.
The film moves along at a good pace and fails to drag in places, which is a relief. The special effects, for its low budget, are rather well done. And the characters in Pan's Labyrinth are all fairly well rounded. Aside from Ofelia, our window to this world, the strongest character is Capitán Vidal; a Little Franco - strict, without mercy, and the highest authority - who cares only for his legacy.
While watching the film I thought that the notion of tasks and the way in which Ofelia dealt with them was poor, but as I came to realise that these were probably the uncomplex imaginings of her twelve year old mind, I think that while they are naive, they are wholly part of her character. And the film leaves you with a did-it-or-didn't-it conclusion that leaves you guessing if Ofelia's world was real or not. Mostly because of a stick of chalk.
There's far too much bloodshed and violence within Pan's Labyrinth for it to be a kids' film, but where it doesn't quite live up to the hype as a fairy tale, it more than makes up for it by being a tight tale of characters under duress interwoven with fantasy interludes. It's the sort of labyrinth worth getting lost in.
Set five years after the Spanish Civil War, Ofelia and her mother move to rural Spain to be with Capitán Vidal, Ofelia's adoptive father and committed Francoist. In their new rural home, Ofelia's mother, Carmen, is due to give birth to Ofelia's brother as Vidal believes a son should be born where his father is. But all around the encampment, the Spanish rebels are hiding amongst the trees, and proving harder to rid than first thought.
While Vidal attempts to hunt down the loyalists, Ofelia finds herself escaping from the horrors around her into the worlds of her fairy tale books. One night an insect transforms into a fairy and leads her to a disused labyrinth where he suggests she may be Princess Moanna, lost to the underworld, and suggests she perform three tasks in order to be back with her real parents, the King and Queen. The brutalities of war go on around Ofelia as she attempts the tasks, until they real and fantasy worlds collide with devastating circumstances.
The film moves along at a good pace and fails to drag in places, which is a relief. The special effects, for its low budget, are rather well done. And the characters in Pan's Labyrinth are all fairly well rounded. Aside from Ofelia, our window to this world, the strongest character is Capitán Vidal; a Little Franco - strict, without mercy, and the highest authority - who cares only for his legacy.
While watching the film I thought that the notion of tasks and the way in which Ofelia dealt with them was poor, but as I came to realise that these were probably the uncomplex imaginings of her twelve year old mind, I think that while they are naive, they are wholly part of her character. And the film leaves you with a did-it-or-didn't-it conclusion that leaves you guessing if Ofelia's world was real or not. Mostly because of a stick of chalk.
There's far too much bloodshed and violence within Pan's Labyrinth for it to be a kids' film, but where it doesn't quite live up to the hype as a fairy tale, it more than makes up for it by being a tight tale of characters under duress interwoven with fantasy interludes. It's the sort of labyrinth worth getting lost in.
