This dark fable is not for children, and even adults will find the acts of violence quite distressing. Coming from a writer/director who is well known for his horror films (Cronos, Hellboy and Blade 2), Pan’s Labyrinth takes place in Spain during the time of Franco. The Civil War has ended and Carmen (Ariadna Gil) joins her new husband, the coldly authoritarian Vidal (Sergi Lopez) who is a captain in Franco’s army. While Vidal quells the rebel uprisings and Carmen is heavy with child, her 11-year-old daughter Ofelia (Ivana Baquero) escapes to a magic world in the surrounding forest.
When her mother becomes ill, it is the housekeeper Mercedes (Maribel Verdu) who watches over the young girl. Ofelia escapes into a labyrinth and follows the instructions of a frightening creature, inspired by the ancient Greek god Pan who could bring forth creation or destruction. The film is steeped in metaphor and compared with those that lurk within shadows of the labyrinth, Captain Vidal is the greatest monster of them all, for he is the one who personifies the ultimate horror that is fascism.
The film is visually stunning as Ofelia makes her way through the obstacles in both the fantasy and the real worlds, but unfortunately both worlds contain terror and treachery. I was disappointed that the young innocent could find little respite in her dreams although there is an attempt to give a happy ending to this Grimm fairy tale.
Pan’s Labyrinth screens at Luna Leederville from 18 January, and Luna Outdoors from 25 January.
