Pan's Labyrinth - excellent period drama / fantasy

Rating: 8/10 (10 June 2008)

Possible spoilers follow, but nothing plot-ruining.
El Laberinto del fauno is one of the most widely, metaphorically, allegorically, etc. (you get the idea) interpreted artsy movies I had heard of in a while. That said, I was fairly turned off at first to the idea of having to piece together a whole separate message, on top of watching a movie and glancing at the subtitles to see what was going on. I'm the kind of guy who loved and hated Dante's Inferno in class just because it was interesting but still so bloody metaphorical (and believe me, our teacher made it so).
If you are this kind of person you are in good company with the rest of that high school English class, and in good company with many film viewers out there who like fantasy. But probably more Lord of the Rings fantasy that introduces a rich world all its own and really sucks you in with something like 9 hours of screen time for the whole story, universe, and history of said universe. Believe me, I am one of the aforementioned. But if YOU are, do not by any means discard Pan's Labyrinth as fluff without substance. Because it isn't.
What works very strongly for the film, and which is what I noticed right off the bat, is the music. The music ties the whole movie together as it is powerful enough to give you an attitude toward a certain scene, but still subtle enough to not let you notice it's happening. Secondly all the actors are great. Not since Natalie Portman in Leon has a child carried a movie on their shoulders as well as Ivana Baquero in the main character's role of Ofelia. All the supporting actors are superb as well. Namely the captain comes to mind as he gives an unexpected nuance to his character that not many would, and I don't want to spoil anything by giving you details.
And now doubtless what some of you have been skipping through this review to find: the fantasy element. The tag in the title that made you check this movie out. It's misleading to say the least. Pan's Labyrinth isn't a Drama/Fantasy/Thriller as IMDb would have you believe, but on the contrary a History/Drama/Thriller/Fantasy (prioritized in that order). There's mostly a great intense war story going on that is supplemented by Ofelia's fantasy escapades. My only beef is that they didn't flesh these out a little more, if for no other reason than to toss us fantasy nerds a bone, and to utilize those awesome tension-building directing skills Guillermo del Toro has going.
The fantasy totally works, though. In a nutshell Ofelia has a few tasks, quests if you will, to complete. They seem at first trivial in the face of what reality is sending to both sides of this military conflict. However, the thing that makes you see the fantasy as appropriate is when it all comes together to show you that everything was for a purpose and was interwoven to work together. That's the ending and I won't spoil it for you, but it is certainly fitting considering what comes before.
Another thing is that the story works just by itself, considering significant points within the plot as they flesh out. For instance, watch out for when the captain is seen shaving in relation to the storyline. It's great to see it a few times just thinking of how everything ties together, and what could certain people have thought when they did certain things. Sometimes the movie tells you, sometimes not.
And if exclusively visual production values just add another layer of paint to an already solid movie, they dumped buckets of the best on this one. The makeup, cinematography, lighting, etc. are all fantastic.
So yeah, if you haven't seen this already see it. You'll like some aspect of it no matter who you are, unless you just can't watch the few but admittedly realistic violent scenes. Cover your eyes if you're squeamish. If it makes any difference, the violence isn't at all gratuitous and speaks volumes concerning the characters of those who inflict it. And incidentally I think the youngest person to appreciate this would be a teenager, anyone younger would probably just be bored out of their minds. They wouldn't catch the subtitles very fast anyway.
Final verdict: An enjoyable intense historical drama with a dash of fantasy that sucks you in with its incredible layers of polish and mesmerizing score. If you want a quality drama and don't mind leaving your brain on while you watch to take in the story (gasp!), see it! I just hope this makes a special appearance in theaters again, because it would just magnify the atmosphere by a fair amount with a big screen and surround sound.