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Pan's Labyrinth
By Mitch Emerson
January 19, 2007 - 09:10
Set in 1940s Spain against the postwar
repression of Franco's Spain, a fairy tale that centers on Ofelia
(Ivana Baquero), a lonely and dreamy child living with her mother
Carmen (Ariadna Gil) and adoptive father, Vidal (Sergi Lopez), a
military officer tasked with 'ridding the area' of rebels. In her
loneliness, Ofelia creates a world filled with fantastical creatures
and secret destinies. With Fascism at its height, Ofelia must come to
terms with her world through a fable of her own creation. -Yahoo!
Movies
Featuring stunning visuals, great
performances and a story full of imagination and sadness, Pan's
Labyrinth is another movie that has hit the ball right out of the
park. Guillermo del Toro has created what many are touting “an
adult fairy tale” and they would be right. This is not a kids
movie, no matter how deceptive the trailers may be. There are a few
really graphic scenes of violence that even made me shudder. That's
the first warning. The second is that this movie is completely
subtitled, which can make some movies difficult for some viewers to
watch (my wife hates them). That being said we can move on.
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The heart of this movie is Ofelia,
played by Ivana Baquero. She is confronted with the brutal realities
of life during a time of war and is also dealing with fantastical
creatures and scary monsters and plays both sides with the same
determination and innocence. Sergi Lopez's Captain Vidal is one of
the most uncaring “villain” that I have seen in a while. He cares
nothing of Ofelia and her mother, all he wants is the son she is
carrying inside her. In one of the sub plots, Mercedes, played with
heart and gusto by Maribel Verdu, is a servant who is also helping
the rebels and she seems to be the conscience of the film. The stand
out performance has got to be Doug Jones as The Pale Man and Pan. He
has a way with body language that is unbelievable. You have to see
these two characters to know what I am talking about. If you
have seen Hellboy, another of del Toro's films, Jones played Abe
Sapien with fluid grace. On a side note, Jones has been tapped to
play the Silver Surfer in the upcoming Fantastic Four sequel Rise of
the Silver Surfer. So keep your eyes open for that. The last cast
member I want to mention is the voice actor for Pan. I read in an
interview with Jones that his voice was dubbed by someone else and I
can't find any mention or credit anywhere. Whoever he was he did a
damn fine job.
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Now I have to mention the effects. The
bad thing is that I can't go into too much detail without giving away
some plot point and surprises. Let's just say that the fantasy
elements are realized beautifully, blending in with reality where
needed almost seamlessly. The graphic violence I mentioned earlier?
Just brutal and in your face. Not glorified or over the top, just
shown as straight forward and realistic as possible.
Final thoughts – Leave the kids at
home, grab your Spanish speaking cousin and head to the theater for
an adult fairy tale that will take you down the rabbit hole, mess
with your mind and toss you back up into the brutal sunshine all
before dinner.
Until Doug Jones and Andy Serkis makes
a film together,
keep reading.
Best Lines:
Ofelia: My name is Ofelia. Who
are you?
Pan: Me? I've had so many
names... Old names that only the wind and the trees can pronounce. I
am the mountain, the forest and the earth. I am... I am a faun. Your
most humble servant, Your Highness.
Captain Vidal: You could have
obeyed me!
Doctor Ferreiro: [his last
words] But captain, obey for obeys sake... That's something only
people like you do.
Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12