Worth the Watch!

Rating: 9/10 (8 December 2019)

I strongly recommend Guillermo del Toro's film, Pan's Labyrinth. Although Toro did not fully involve all his characters, the film turned out great due to the many conflicts that kept me on my feet throughout the whole film.
Mercedes, my favorite character in the film, is very well developed as a kindhearted woman with a soft spot for Ofelia; however, the other characters are lacking development and attention. Guillermo del Toro introduces Mercedes as a full person by including her family, good intentions, and willingness to help. Because of Mercedes' actions, the audience can see that Mercedes has empathy and wants to assist her loved ones. Mercedes' brother is present in the film and she is constantly attempting to help him by retrieving supplies, medicine, and more to give to her brother. Mercedes looks out for Ofelia from the time Ofelia arrives at the castle until the end of the movie, attempting to shield her from the horror of the war. In contrast to Mercedes' well-developed character, the audience is never exposed to Captain Vidal's true self. He never seems vulnerable or anything other than an evil. Granted, Toro may have wanted to portray him as only a bad man, but it made for a lousy character. Carmen, Ofelia's mother, is also very poorly developed. The audience is able to get to know her a little at the beginning of the film while she is traveling to her new home, but after she arrives, the audience rarely sees her again fully awake. Carmen is sedated most of the time after arriving at her husband, Captain Vidal's, home. Because of this, I feel as if the only reason she lived throughout most of the film was to carry her newborn to delivery and create a surprise ending. Other than that, Carmen does not add much to the storyline and therefore does not have a reason to be in the film.
In Pan's Labyrinth, there are too many conflicts to count, which makes the film very intriguing and easy to watch. The most prominent conflict is the Spanish War. The war lasts throughout the entire film, but there are separate battles and instances that portray different parts. For example, Vidal's men kill rabbit hunters, the doctor, and go on a hunt for Mercedes. All mentioned scenes relate back to the war; however, they are completely different from one another, leaving the audience curious as to what's coming next. Ofelia has an internal conflict during the film. She is unsure if she wants to be a princess in an underground world or if she wants to stay mortal and support her mother. Ofelia is intrigued by the thought of being a princess, but she loves her mother enough to question it. Another conflict that is present in the film is Carmen and her unborn child. Carmen struggles with her pregnancy over the course of the movie and is on bed rest, constantly having complications, until she dies at the end of the film.
Overall, Guillermo del Toro's film, Pan's Labyrinth, is worth the watch. Even though most of the characters in the film were far from developed, the film keeps the audience interested from start to finish. I have never seen a movie with so many things happening at once, but it made for a nice attention grabber.