Pan’s Labyrinth (2006): In the fascist Spain of 1944, the bookish young stepdaughter of a sadistic army general escapes into an eerie but captivating fantasy world.
This is a spanish film, taking place in Spain right after the civil war. The protagonist is Ofelia, whose life is horrible due to her new stepdad, a tyrannic army general who doesn’t even like her. All he cares about is the son his wife is bearing her. Because of this bad life, Ofelia creates a magic world for herself, in a way to escape reality. At least that is one interpretation. Another could be that the fantasy parts are actually real.
The fantasy parts are actually one third of the film’s running time, but they are very effective. The fauno is a great creation, it just looks eerie and beautiful at the same time. The fairies and all other creatures look great, inventive and scary. The only thing that I did not feel was tension. I mean I never felt Ofelia was in danger, even though I was supposed to.
Inevitably after each excursion into her fantasy world, Ofelia has to come back to reality. This part of the movie is very dramatic, and at the center of it is the fight between Capitan Vidal and the rebels. Mercedes, Vidal’s housekeeper is also a big part of it, as she tries to help the rebels while working for Vidal. This is a violent film, with plenty of torture scenes and high tension.
The performances are pretty much good from everyone. Ivana Baquero gives both an innocent and strong character to Ofelia. Maribel Verdú makes Mercedes stuggle real. Ariadna Gil as Ofelia’s mother is a woman who has to sacrifice herself for the good of her family. And Sergi López as Vidal is a cruel ruthless villain, who only cares about his name and his career.
The ending is one of the best endings I’ve ever seen. Both satisfying and emotional, it works perfectly in both the fantasy and the real world. Up until the end, I was enjoying this movie a great deal, but the ending made it one of my favorite movies of all time.
Rating: 5 Stars