Fairy Stories are not Always for Children

Rating: 10/10 (24 January 2007)

The Spanish-language film, "Pan's Labyrinth," has perhaps the most misleading trailer in recent memory. Scenes of a young girl, a faun, and tiny fairies suggest a film that might be appropriate for children. Wrong. This often-brutal tale that takes place in Spain during World War II contains graphic violence and enough horrors to induce nightmares in the young or even in adults sensitive to suggested torture. However, when taken as an adult fairy tale with political overtones, the film rates among the best of the past year.
Like other films about children who try to escape from an unpleasant reality into a fantasy world, writer-director Guillermo del Toro's "Pan's Labyrinth" immerses a young girl in the loveless household of her mother's second husband, a cruel captain in Generalissimo Franco's army. While her mother fades away as a difficult pregnancy saps her strength and a cold marriage destroys her will, the young girl is convinced by a faun that she is a princess of the underworld and need only complete three tasks to return and reclaim her rightful role.
The cast is superb. Young Ivana Baquero plays Ofelia, the dethroned princess, with skill beyond her years, and Maribel Verdu is excellent as Mercedes, a compassionate servant with a secret. However, the standout is Sergi Lopez, who imbues the monstrous Captain Vidal with a cold cruelty that is evident from his first scene when he meets Ofelia. The politics of the filmmakers are unmistakably anti-fascist, and Lopez portrays Vidal with relish as an amoral, emotionless monster, who will stop at nothing in his battle against those who oppose Franco. Add first-rate production values, a delicate score by Javier Navarrete, and a captivating script and this Spanish-Mexican co-production emerges as a vastly entertaining gem for adults.