A Simply Amazing Movie

Rating: 10/10 (26 January 2007)

The best way to appreciate "Pan's Labyrinth" is to compare it to Terry Gilliam's "Tideland." Not only were both released in 2006 and sport surprisingly similar poster art, but both are fantasy-reality stories about little girls disappearing into a world of imagination in order to deal with the terrible realities of life. The difference, however, is that "Tideland" treats its characters as mere vehicles for unbridled fantasy and, in fact, sacrifices them mercilessly to some disturbing ideas and images, while "Pan's Labyrinth" does not. It loves its characters and weaves an amazingly emotional story that does not horrify and fantasize simply for the sake of shock and awe.
"Pan's Labyrinth" is a cross-genre movie that gets it all right. It's a war movie. It's a fantasy. It's a character-driven drama. And, in an unconventional way, it's horror.
Del Torro calls it a film about obedience. Certainly it's a film about fascism and revolution. But it's also about a girl learning when to break the chains of blind obedience and plant the seeds of independent thought. Abused by a hostile step-father (a fascist army captain) and neglected by a pregnant mother (whom the father keeps constantly drugged), little Ofelia is confronted with horrors she cannot possibly understand. So she translates them into a fantasy world which teaches her lessons no one else seems able to. And the lessons are harsh.
But the way Del Torro brings all of these elements together is nothing short of brilliant. This could have easily been as awkward as the pseudo-fantastical "Neverwas," as precious as the sometimes-sappy "Finding Neverland" or even as reckless as the disturbing "Tideland." But in this movie, fantasy and reality melt into one another. And the result is engrossing, emotional and inspiring!