A Magical Realist Fairy Tale, and one of the Best of 2006: Pan's Labyrinth

The Spanish language Pan’s Labyrinth (El Laberinto del Fauno) is one of the best films of 2006, a fabulous and moving mixture of fairy tale, realistic historical drama, fantasy and thriller. I’ve also seen the word “horror” attached to descriptions of the film, but after a glut of really sick flicks such as the Saw series, or Turistas, that designation seems overkill, as there is nothing of the new horror genre’s exploitative nature here. The film is more in the proud Spanish-language tradition of magical realism, at once Gabriel Garcia Marquez and the ludic, fantasy-besotted Jorge Luis Borges.

Set in Franco-ruled Spain in the final throws of World War II, Pan’s Labyrinth centers on the plight of a young girl, Ofelia (played by the extraordinary Ivana Baquero), whose father has died and whose pregnant mother is newly married to a horrible, brutal monster of a man: Captain Vidal, a Franco loyalist and basic paranoid, cold-blooded killer. As Ofelia’s mother and she travel to the Captain’s compound in the woods (surrounded by resistance fighters), Ofelia releases a fairy from a stone who follows her, and eventually reveals to her that she was a princess of the Underworld who had died in a previous life, and who has forgotten about her past as a ruler of the fairy realm. We are introduced to a Pan-like faun (of the title), a tall talking tree with long finger/branches who guides Ofelia in the three dangerous and difficult tasks she must undertake to regain her position as Princess again. Meanwhile, the Captain is ready to kill any and everyone who departs from total commitment to his dying cause, and thus Ofelia and her mother (and her unborn sibling) are in perilous danger.

To give more away would be to stumble in a labyrinth of spoilers, and that is no fun for anyone. Instead, best to hint at what is so powerful about this film.

The balance of realism and magic is incredibly well struck, with elements of each side interwoven in the other, such that the real and frankly surreal (or at any rate, fairytale-like) keep one another in constant check. The contrasting or oppositional poles render the totality all the more potent, proving Blake and Yeats in their philosophies regarding a harmony of opposites.

Speaking of poets, the entire film feels and looks like a beautiful poem, an enchanted and literate place (the allusions to popular fairy tales, the Shakespearean names and themes, etc) spilling over in visual splendor. In its sweet and elegiac tone, nostalgic but not sentimental, I was reminded of the great Japanese animator, Hayao Miyazaki’s finest film: My Neighbor Totoro, also about a girl who can commune with forest spirits otherwise invisible to the adult world. Only, with its war theme and the sometimes brutal actions of the Captain (a convincingly mean Sergi Lopez), this is hardly for children, and is miles away from the idyllic dramas of Totoro.

When Hollywood foists on its public the self-aware and prematurely adult Dakota Fanning as its reigning child actor, here we are treated to a completely “real” and down-to-earth nine year old, in the guise of the insanely talented Ivana Baquero. The film is overflowing with positive elements, from its sumptuous visual design (Guillermo Navarro), photography, music (Javier Navarre), and literate, thrilling story, but the entire thing would evaporate like so much fairy dust if it weren’t for her solid, believable, and ultimately heartbreaking performance.

Ooops, I didn’t mention anything about the writer/director, Mexican Guillermo del Toro. I think that’s because I haven’t seen anything else by him. From what I understand, this is his best film to date, but that is neither here nor there. Comparing it to nothing, or just on its own merits, I am absolutely blown away by Pan’s Labyrinth, a brilliantly deft blend of political allegory, magic realism, and humanistic allusion. Original, fresh, exhilarating, and moving: that’s a lot to expect these days in the cinema, and del Toro delivers. See it in the theater, as its visual impact would be much diminished on the small screen.

Note: For some reason, there is no listing for this film “In Theaters” which is of course where I saw it (as it just opened today). Maybe a listing will pop up in the database, maybe not… In the meantime, we’re stuck with the Video/DVD listing, alas.