Pan's Labyrinth Review

No matter how far we mature past childhood, as humans we all seem to subconsciously cling onto the juvenile spirit that bestowed us with a sight imaginative enough to unveil the magic of the mundane world. In his 2006 film, Pan’s Labyrinth, Guillermo del Toro harnesses this universally buried desire to construct a thoroughly disobedient fairy tale, whimsical enough to please our inner child, yet dark enough to captivate a mature audience.

Set in 1944, five years after the end of the Spanish Civil War, Pan’s Labyrinth is back dropped by the growing political tensions of a fragmented Europe as the end of World War II approaches rapidly. The film chronicles the journey of an eleven year-old girl, Ofelia, as she travels with her heavily pregnant mother to her fascist stepfather, Capital Vidal’s, military outpost. As Vidal hunts the rebels hiding out in the forest of rural Spain, Ofelia discovers an overgrown labyrinth. There a mysterious faun tells her that she is the latest reincarnation of a long lost princess, and the three tasks she must complete to return to her soul’s home.

Despite its setting and half its plot line being set in the “real world” Pan’s Labyrinth’s effectiveness as a fairy tale was not diminished by its gruesome depictions of the brutalities of wartime. In fact, it is because of these intertwined narratives, and Guillermo del Toro’s decision to stray away from the family friendly mold set in place by Disney, that allowed him to use the bones of a typical fairy tale and craft a unique and timeless narrative that has prevailed into the modern day.

In many ways, Pan’s Labyrinth is a masterclass in how to utilize an audience’s preconceived notions and play with their perception. The true power of Pan’s Labyrinth is in its ambiguity, it's the type of movie two people could watch together and finish with two widely different interpretations of the story’s end. For that reason it may not appeal to the type of viewer that needs a cut and dry answer of what they’re watching and how they’re meant to feel.

By utilizing the elements of magical realism popular in his native Mexico, Guillermo del Toro managed to elevate Pan’s Labyrinth from a fun fantasy flick to a dark allegory of the atrocities of wartime. Like any good fairy tale, Pan’s Labyrinth teaches its viewers a valuable lesson. Through the film’s characters the capability of humanity, and the power of the decisions of the everyday monsters like Vidal, or the heroic rebels in the forest is revealed. Providing a mesmerizing and thoughtful commentary on law and order, life and death, and all the things that make the world the beautifully disjointed place that it is.