A strong, disturbing movie

Rating: 9/10 (12 February 2007)

"El Laberinto del Fauno" (2006) was written and directed by Guillermo del Toro. (The film was shown in the U.S. with the title, "Pan's Labyrinth.")
This extraordinary film combines frightening reality with the equally frightening internal world of a a young girl. Ivana Baquero plays Ofelia, the gentle, quiet, step-daughter of a Fascist army captain. Sergi López portrays Capitán Vidal as the ideal Fascist officer. He is brave, cruel, gives blind obedience to his superiors, and expects blind obedience from his subordinates.
Ofelia and her mother are virtual captives of the captain in an isolated military outpost. In 1944, partisans in the mountains were still opposing Franco's forces, and it's the captain's job to wipe them out by any means at his disposal. This includes the torture of prisoners to make them reveal the person inside the military compound who is aiding the guerrillas. (We don't see the actual torture, but we see the physical results that follow it, and those scenes are gruesome.)
Faced with this horror, Ofelia is drawn into another world, which is also not a paradise. It's a dangerous environment, into which she must venture to help her mother and to achieve her destiny as a magical princess.
The cast of the movie is outstanding. Both Baquero and López are excellent. Álex Angulo is wonderful as Dr. Ferreiro, who must weigh the ethics of his profession against the demands placed upon him by Captain Vidal.
The performance by Maribel Verdú as Mercedes, the captain's housekeeper, is extraordinary. It's wonderful to see a glamorous young movie star transform herself into a working-class servant, who is beneath the notice of her employer.
This is a hard and demanding film. The grimness of the situation is present in all the scenes, with hardly any happiness or hope to offset it. Nonetheless, it's an important film, and definitely worth seeking out and watching.