Review: Fairy tale weaves tenderness with war’s brutality

Directed by: Guillermo del Toro

Starring: Ivana Baquero, Maribel Verdú, Sergi López, Ariadna Gil, Álex Angulo, Doug Jones

Rated: R

Every once in a great while a film comes along that is so wonderfully original, visually stunning and tells its story with such utter perfection that it reaffirms the movie lover’s faith in the cinematic arts. “My Life as a Dog,” “City of Lost Children” and “Memento” are three that come to mind.

The latest is Guillermo del Toro’s “Pan’s Labyrinth.” The previews and teaser advertisements for the movie look magical enough, but they merely hint at the power this film wields. In part, it is a fairy tale, though not exactly one for kids. It makes “The Brothers Grimm” seem not all too “grim.”

“Pan’s Labyrinth” is so much more than one can infer from the previews, including a gripping political drama and a life-affirming, coming-of-age tale that will haunt the viewer long after the final credits.

Del Toro has done some interesting films before, including “The Devil’s Backbone” and the graphic novel adaptation, “Hellboy.” This film is his crowning achievement by a very large margin.

Setting: fascist Spain

Set in the post-World War II of Gen. Franco’s fascist Spain, “Pan’s Labyrinth” is as brutal in places as it is tender in others.

Gifted young newcomer Ivana Baquero plays a young girl named Ofelia, who is relocating with her pregnant mother and new stepfather to a small village in the Spanish countryside. Stepfather is Capt. Vidal, a member of Franco’s regime, and it’s his mission to find and put and end to the freedom fighters who have taken refuge in the area. His motto seems to be “by any means necessary,” and to make matters worse, he really enjoys his work. A more cold-blooded character is hard to imagine outside of several characters in “The Godfather” series.

Ofelia, still feeling the effects of losing her real father in the civil war, has no love for the captain, and her mother can only tell the child that she will understand the needs a woman has when she gets a little older.

After an opening sequence set in the “real world,” we are taken to a fantasy land where Ofelia has been led by fairies, who first appear as grasshoppers. In this world, there lives a faun who says his real name “can only be pronounced by the wind and the trees.” For the sake of the story, he is known as Pan.

Pan tells Ofelia she is the reincarnation of a princess whose return has been long awaited. She will be able to put things back in order in this fantastically fanciful world. But in order to be sure, Pan says that Ofelia must pass three important tests, and do so before the next full moon.

We go back and forth with Ofelia from this magical world to the harsh real world of fascist Spain. The captain is continually apprehending rebels and extracting information from them in the most extreme ways. Besides her mother, Ofelia’s other friend and confidant is the housekeeper, Mercedes. Maribel Verdé, who was so engaging in another Mexican film, the erotically charged “Y Tu Mamá También,” turns in another solid performance as Mercedes. While she performs her housekeeping duties, she is also connected to the local resistance movement. This turns out to be unfortunate for her, as well as to all other sympathizers discovered by the captain.

Other worlds

“Pan’s Labyrinth” brings to mind the film “The Tin Drum,” based on the novel by Günter Grass. The protagonist in that story is so traumatized by his own birth and the cruel world around him that, at age 3, he simply decides to stop growing. Dorothy in “The Wizard of Oz” was unhappy with her lot in life as well and created the wonderful Land of Oz and all of its fantastic inhabitants. And we can’t forget “Sybil,” where the title character – unable to face the horrors that befall her – creates multiple personalities that live inside her mind and body.

Ofelia does the same as these other characters. Del Toro weaves the tale so well that we tend to believe that this universe, created by a child unable to come to grips with the horrors of her reality, is indeed, a very real place. “Pan’s Labyrinth” is a testament to the resiliency of the human spirit and the wonders that inhabit the minds of the innocent.

I can’t stress enough what a great movie this is, but also must warn that the subject matter is much too dark for younger children.

Jim Wunderle owns Wunderle Sound Services and is a Springfield free-lance writer and musician. He can be reached at info@wunderlesound.com.[[In-content Ad]]