Dear reader,
children are often a symbol of innocence. But even
though the children may fight to be good and do their best to help,
that's by far not what their parents may be like at all. That's
certainly and especially true for Ofelia (Ivana Baquero) in Guillermo
del Toro's “Pan's Labyrinth” from the year 2006. Ofelia and her
pregnant mother Carmen (Ariadna Gil) are on their way to Ofelia's
stepfather, the fascist captain Vidal (Sergi López).
The captain strives against the partisans and also
shows no heart for Ofelia either. She realises that in their first
meeting right away. In the night she can't sleep. An insect, which
she has met on her way to the captain, comes up again. It's not a
normal insect. Not just because it's so big. When Ofelia shows her
fairy tale book to the insect, it turns into a fairy, like one out of
that book. The fairy guides Ofelia to the near by labyrinth. In the
middle of the labyrinth is a statue of a girl with a baby and Pan
sleeping there is waking up. He tells Ofelia that she's a princess
turned human and now that she's human, she lost all her memory of
being a princess. Her father, the king, is waiting for her. She has
to succeed with three tasks, to break the curse.
Doug Jones, who's playing Pan, is in full costume and
mask, as in other Guillermo del Toro movies, like Abe Sapien in
Hellboy. His character is a rather strange one. On the one hand he
helps Ofelia, on the other hand the tasks he sets for her, lead her
to be in trouble a lot. The tasks and troubles of the fairy tale
world are certainly correlating with the dangers and brutality of the
adult world. That's especially true for the stepfather. When he finds
out that the housemaid Mercedes and the doctor Ferreiro are actually
helping the partisans, the stepfather doesn't hold back at all.
Is Pan on Ofelia's side after all? Or did he use her
for his own purposes all along? Does captain Videl have a heart for
his stepdaughter in the end? Or did the war turn his heart to stone?
See for your self and make your own decision.
I'm mostly impressed how the movie combines true
history in a very intriguing way with elements of fairy tales. You
can trust Guillermo del Toro with horror and fantasy anyway. The
total love and care put into the movie comes through to me. Especially
how the creation of the characters and portrayal of creatures of the
fairy tales world. Even though the movie clearly uses elements of
fairy tales, it's far from being a children's movie. At best it's an
adult version of a fairy tale movie. A very intriguing movie, but
nothing for the sentimental, squeamish minded.
Until next blog,
sarah
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