- 23,800
- Philippines
I am always drawn to films based on graphic novels or the fantasy genre. Likewise, fairy tales and children's books are often on my book lists when I go shopping, too (being an educator, it's become a guilty pleasure), so when a movie describes itself as a "Fairy Tale for Grown-ups", it will naturally pique my interest.
Pan's Labyrinth is set in the 40's, after the close of the Spanish Civil War. Franco's Army has pushed the rebels into the hills, and one over-zealous Army captain is doing his best to exterminate the "communist scum" and their sympathizers.
Enter Ofelia and her mother. With her father's death in the war, her mother has sought to provide security for herself and Ofelia by marrying the Captain. Out of this, he is hoping to get a son, an heir to his family legacy to continue their military lineage.
While the subtitled translations aren't often exact (I can understand a very small spattering of Spanish), they seem more edited for ease of understanding than anything else, and don't completely change the story, unlike what some over-zealous translators often do with Japanese or Korean films.
We are introduced to the main characters quickly, and the fantasy theme is set early, with events taking place in an ancient forest covered in ruins. Of course, whether Spain is covered in what seem to be pseudo-Mycenean/Greek/Incan/whatever ruins or not is something I don't know, but this is a fairy tale, after all.
Without giving away too much, it's safe to say that the movie revolves around Ofelia, her fears for her pregnant and fragile mother, her soon-to-be-born baby brother, the fascistic and disciplinarian Captain whom she refuses to call "Father", a housemaid with secret sympathies for the rebels, and Pan, the Faun, whose offer to take Ofelia away from this dreary and horrific mortal world and back to the underworld, where, he asserts, Ofelia is meant to reign as heir to her real father, the King of the Underworld.
What unravels is a dark, oftentimes stomach-churning quest for Ofelia, as her life starts to fall apart due to her mother's failing health, her stepfather's increasingly violent and unpredictable behaviour, the escalating clashes with the rebels, and the terrifying tasks the Faun lays out for her.
We are also given the question as to whether her encounters with the supernatural are real or an elaborate construction that allows her to cope with the real world. While some things that happen in the movie suggests the former, others point towards the latter.
This is a well-thought out film, beautifully designed and intricately scripted. The main story itself is quite simple, but the background against which it occurs is not, and the politics of it is a major source of controversy over the film in Spain. Despite many people dwelling on the political aspects of the film, de Toro, thankfully, does not. While his treatment of the communist rebels is very light, there is no moral victory for either side at the end of the film, just death, destruction and disillusionment.
There's a poignant beauty to the film, and a profound sadness to it, all. It's very anti-Hollywood in its treatment of the theme, and the liberties taken in regards to the carnage and bloodshed happening both within and without the main storyline serves to de-romanticize the war. (A very stark contrast to the way extreme violence in "300" serves to lionize military action, and very realistic, too... in a stomach-churning way).
It's a very good film, and a good watch for anyone who enjoys good story-telling (it often reminds me of some of the darker stuff written by Orson Scott Card or the less horror-focused stuff by Stephen King). It's not, however, a light-hearted fantasy or a true horror movie... except, maybe, in its focus on the horrors of human nature and the human condition.
Two thumbs up... this is one of the best Spanish films I've ever seen.
Pan's Labyrinth is set in the 40's, after the close of the Spanish Civil War. Franco's Army has pushed the rebels into the hills, and one over-zealous Army captain is doing his best to exterminate the "communist scum" and their sympathizers.
Enter Ofelia and her mother. With her father's death in the war, her mother has sought to provide security for herself and Ofelia by marrying the Captain. Out of this, he is hoping to get a son, an heir to his family legacy to continue their military lineage.
While the subtitled translations aren't often exact (I can understand a very small spattering of Spanish), they seem more edited for ease of understanding than anything else, and don't completely change the story, unlike what some over-zealous translators often do with Japanese or Korean films.
We are introduced to the main characters quickly, and the fantasy theme is set early, with events taking place in an ancient forest covered in ruins. Of course, whether Spain is covered in what seem to be pseudo-Mycenean/Greek/Incan/whatever ruins or not is something I don't know, but this is a fairy tale, after all.
Without giving away too much, it's safe to say that the movie revolves around Ofelia, her fears for her pregnant and fragile mother, her soon-to-be-born baby brother, the fascistic and disciplinarian Captain whom she refuses to call "Father", a housemaid with secret sympathies for the rebels, and Pan, the Faun, whose offer to take Ofelia away from this dreary and horrific mortal world and back to the underworld, where, he asserts, Ofelia is meant to reign as heir to her real father, the King of the Underworld.
What unravels is a dark, oftentimes stomach-churning quest for Ofelia, as her life starts to fall apart due to her mother's failing health, her stepfather's increasingly violent and unpredictable behaviour, the escalating clashes with the rebels, and the terrifying tasks the Faun lays out for her.
We are also given the question as to whether her encounters with the supernatural are real or an elaborate construction that allows her to cope with the real world. While some things that happen in the movie suggests the former, others point towards the latter.
This is a well-thought out film, beautifully designed and intricately scripted. The main story itself is quite simple, but the background against which it occurs is not, and the politics of it is a major source of controversy over the film in Spain. Despite many people dwelling on the political aspects of the film, de Toro, thankfully, does not. While his treatment of the communist rebels is very light, there is no moral victory for either side at the end of the film, just death, destruction and disillusionment.
There's a poignant beauty to the film, and a profound sadness to it, all. It's very anti-Hollywood in its treatment of the theme, and the liberties taken in regards to the carnage and bloodshed happening both within and without the main storyline serves to de-romanticize the war. (A very stark contrast to the way extreme violence in "300" serves to lionize military action, and very realistic, too... in a stomach-churning way).
It's a very good film, and a good watch for anyone who enjoys good story-telling (it often reminds me of some of the darker stuff written by Orson Scott Card or the less horror-focused stuff by Stephen King). It's not, however, a light-hearted fantasy or a true horror movie... except, maybe, in its focus on the horrors of human nature and the human condition.
Two thumbs up... this is one of the best Spanish films I've ever seen.
