Alice in Francoland

Rating: 7/10 (16 February 2007)

The story is set in 1944 in Spain after General Franco's forces have taken over the country following the Spanish civil war. Captain Vidal (Sergi López) is a brutal, sadistic commander of a garrison of soldiers that has commandeered an old estate in the mountains of northern Spain that serves as a headquarters to fight rebel guerrillas and as a supply depot for local villagers to get rationed food. Vidal has sent for his pregnant new wife Carmen (Ariadna Gil) to join him against her doctor's advice because Vidal believes he should be present went the child is born and is determined it will be a boy. Carmen had been a widow and has a 12 year old daughter Ofelia (Ivana Baquero). Ofelia is a bookish girl who loves reading and making up fantasy stories. Upon her arrival she discovers a stone and instinct draws her to an ancient stone monument in the forest and she replaces the stone to where it once belonged. This sets the stage of the world of the labyrinth that she will become an integral part of to preserve it's existence. This film is receiving rave reviews from critics and film goers world wide and has been nominated for six Academy Awards in Art Direction, Cinematography, Make Up, Original Score, Original Screenplay and Best Foreign Languge Film. This is the odds-on favorite as best foreign film and could also win an Oscar for art direction and make up. Guillermo de Toro wrote the screenplay from his own story and directs this dark, gloomy blend of fantasy and reality that is also extremely violent. The story is imaginative but fairly weak and full of holes, flaws and inconsistencies. Vidal is so perpetually scary and one dimensionally sinister and sadistic with not even a false or pretentious good side to give the character the element of unknown surprise that would make for superb movie villain. Although Carmen is a central character because of her importance to the story, she is almost incidental. Mercedes (Maribel Verdú) is the housekeeper in charge of the estate staff and has a brother who is one of the rebel guerrillas. Verdú probably provides the best acting in this cast. Álex Angulo is Dr. Ferreiro, Carmen's doctor who is also sympathetic with the rebels in a good supporting role. Doug Jones in makeup and costume plays the dual role of Pan the satyr who dwells in the ancient labyrinth that has three tasks for Ofelia to perform and of the Pale Man, one of the creepiest creatures to haunt a silver screen in some time. Pablo Adan provides the theatrical commanding voice of Pan in one of the great voice-overs of film since James Earl Jones' interpretation of Darth Vader. Del Toro has woven a Tim Burtoneque film here but this would work better as a fantasy film with less violence. I felt the film unraveled at the end and I didn't buy it's ending. I would like to see more from director del Toro but maybe less Brothers Grimm and Lewis Carroll in influence. If you want to do a war film do a war film. If you want to do a fantasy film do a fantasy film. Some images in this film are overstressed as if to say pay attention because this is going to play a key role later on. Okay, okay I get it. Get on with it. Because of gratuitous, disturbing graphic violence I would not recommend this to anyone. I don't see the cinematic achievement that warrants the praise this film is getting. It has a lot going for it but it's not a great film. I would give this 7.5 out of 10.