A haunting and fantastic experience that needs to be seen to be believed

Rating: 8/10 (23 May 2007)

There was only one film in the last year that I have regretted not seeing in the theatre when I had a chance: Pan's Labyrinth. Everywhere I looked, there were rave reviews for it, and stupidly, I just never bothered to see it when I could have. After months of kicking myself, I snatched it up on DVD and watched it as soon as I could. And while it was not what I was expecting, I am still in awe days later.
In a nutshell, Pan's Labyrinth takes place in Spain in 1944, and is about two people: the young and innocent Ofelia (Ivana Baquero) and the evil tyrant Capitán Vidal (Sergi López). Ofelia's mother has just married Vidal, and is carrying his child as the film opens. Vidal is the leader of a sect of the Spanish military, who are holding up in the mountains of Spain, and are being consistently attacked by mercenary rebels fighting to end the civil unrest. But a strange insect begins to appear to Ofelia soon after she arrives in her new home, and even sooner does she realize that she may not be who she thinks she is.
That small snippet does not even begin to crack the layered shell that is Pan's Labyrinth. It is just stunningly original in its fantasy, and totally unlike anything I have ever seen. The imagination and uniqueness at work here from writer/director Guillermo del Toro is more powerful than I could have ever imagined it would be.
The very visual film packs in a lot of images to comprehend. The colours used to express the difference between characters like Ofelia and Vidal are brilliant and vibrant in their usage. And the indelible impressions they leave on the characters are only multiplied for the audience. One looks no further than to a bright scene in a bathroom with Ofelia looking at a book. She opens it, and the pages turn blood red. No sooner does this happen than she opens the door and looks into a gloomy room that has all of the brightness of the bathroom before it, but none of its visually appetizing features. Multiple scenes look like this, and whether it is dark, grim and moody (which is what most of the film looks like), or brilliantly well-lit, every image looks dazzling (even at its most graphically violent of times).
Those colours only lead into how horrific and fantastical the film truly is. The horrors of war are never too intense, but they feel as authentic and real as the grimmest and bloodiest of war films. The emotion at play here, especially from the character of Vidal, is just too horrific to bare in some cases, and really play more into the imagination of just how much a tyrant he truly is, as opposed to the tyrant he comes off as. And the fantasy does not make the horror any less scary than it is. The scene with the creature called 'The Pale Man' is of particular relevance here, because when he is sitting still he looks kind of sheepishly fantastical and laughable, but once he begins moving, he becomes one of the most terrifying things ever put on screen.
But that is what this movie is: an emotionally driven work of art that evolves and changes back and forth on a whim. The editing is that precise, and the storyline that well rounded, that such a feat is easily accomplished.
What I did dislike though, is the fact that the movie spends a lot more time focusing on Vidal than it does on Ofelia. I absolutely adored every fantastical moment of Ofelia's journey, but I just enjoyed the moments with Vidal. It becomes a bit tedious and boring in some cases, and in others, becomes a bit too much. Some scenes just go on a tad bit too long, and feel unneeded. Of course, they also made me hyped for the next moment of fantastical beauty, but they offset it a bit too much. I understand the need for the grim reality of the situation these two main characters are in, but I think less focus on Vidal (and even less focus on the throwaway rebels) could have helped liven the fantasy up even more than it already was.
For what the film lacks in pacing, it makes up for in its spectacular make-up. The tricks employed to transform Doug Jones into the Pale Man, and into the titular Pan are just nothing short of miraculous. He may start out as pure fantasy, but as the film goes on, becomes more and more close to reality. These creatures are as real as they come, and their authenticity is unnerving in a lot of cases. Kudos to Jones for the wonderful body language he employed to make these two feel so much more real than they could have been if they were just CGI.
Every performance in the film is grand. Baquero is the picture of innocent, and brings a calm and beautiful resonance to Ofelia. Her pureness is marvellous, and is unmatched by the majority of her counterparts in the United States. López is excellent as the villain, and strikes a particular chord of emotion with every scene he is in. Should the audience hate him, or should they pity him for his stubbornness? He makes every moment he is in memorable, and I can only hope I will see more of him in the future. Every supporting character, especially Maribel Verdú, brings something unique to the table, and even at its most bland moments, helps make Pan's Labyrinth a worthwhile experience.
It is far from perfection, but Pan's Labyrinth is an experience that every fan of cinema should take. Its fantasy, its horror, its genuine human (and creature) emotion is so far above most of its counterparts in the US, that missing it would simply be a terrible waste.
8.5/10.