Pan's Labyrinth
Jan. 16th, 2007 07:34 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ingvildGuillermo Del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth is a horror/dark fantasy/historical movie which takes place in Spain in 1944, after the end of the Spanish Civil War. The frame of action is a fight between fascists and a few rebels who haven't stopped fighting.
Young Ofelia (masterfully portrayed by 12-year-old Ivana Baquero) arrives with her heavily pregnant mother, because her stepfather (Capitan Vidal) wants his son to be born where he is, in spite of Ofelia's mother's poor health, which really wasn't improved by the hard journey. Other important characters are Mercedes, the Capitan's servant, and the Doctor. Mercedes and the Doctor are smuggling supplies and information to the rebels, who include Mercedes' brother.
Carefully interwoven with the story of Mercedes, Vidal and the rebels is the story of Ofelia's quest to get back to fairyland. You see, she's the reincarnation of the princess who went away a long time ago. She enters a labyrinth, meets a faun and is given three tasks in order to be proved worthy of returning.
At first, it seems like Ofelia's tasks are a fantasy, because she is always alone when she performs them, and they seem so surreal. Gradually, however, the other characters become involved in Ofelia's story. After she draws a magic door to sneak into her stepfather's room, the boundaries between the worlds (and the stories) are torn down.
The violence in the movie is rather intricately dealt with. The killings are dealth with graphically, while the amputation of a leg and torture of a prisoner in cut away from the moment the hammer or saw strikes flesh. This is possibly because it is part of character building. The moment Vidal kills two peasants brutally before even ransacking them, the audience knows exactly what kind of man he is.
EXTREMELY SPOILERY PARAGRAPH. DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE MOVIE.
Blood and death runs through this movie, from the birthing blood gushing from Ofelia's mother, to the blood of violence to the blood sacrificed by Ofelia. It is always clear that Ofelia's mother won't live - but she dies giving birth to a son. Ofelia dies, but is reborn in Fairyland. However, Capitan Vidal, the one who is most obsessed with his reputation and the survival of his name, dies knowing that his son will never even know who his father was.
It is a beautiful movie with a score of great characters, heartily recommended.
Young Ofelia (masterfully portrayed by 12-year-old Ivana Baquero) arrives with her heavily pregnant mother, because her stepfather (Capitan Vidal) wants his son to be born where he is, in spite of Ofelia's mother's poor health, which really wasn't improved by the hard journey. Other important characters are Mercedes, the Capitan's servant, and the Doctor. Mercedes and the Doctor are smuggling supplies and information to the rebels, who include Mercedes' brother.
Carefully interwoven with the story of Mercedes, Vidal and the rebels is the story of Ofelia's quest to get back to fairyland. You see, she's the reincarnation of the princess who went away a long time ago. She enters a labyrinth, meets a faun and is given three tasks in order to be proved worthy of returning.
At first, it seems like Ofelia's tasks are a fantasy, because she is always alone when she performs them, and they seem so surreal. Gradually, however, the other characters become involved in Ofelia's story. After she draws a magic door to sneak into her stepfather's room, the boundaries between the worlds (and the stories) are torn down.
The violence in the movie is rather intricately dealt with. The killings are dealth with graphically, while the amputation of a leg and torture of a prisoner in cut away from the moment the hammer or saw strikes flesh. This is possibly because it is part of character building. The moment Vidal kills two peasants brutally before even ransacking them, the audience knows exactly what kind of man he is.
EXTREMELY SPOILERY PARAGRAPH. DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE MOVIE.
Blood and death runs through this movie, from the birthing blood gushing from Ofelia's mother, to the blood of violence to the blood sacrificed by Ofelia. It is always clear that Ofelia's mother won't live - but she dies giving birth to a son. Ofelia dies, but is reborn in Fairyland. However, Capitan Vidal, the one who is most obsessed with his reputation and the survival of his name, dies knowing that his son will never even know who his father was.
It is a beautiful movie with a score of great characters, heartily recommended.
