Review of Pan's Labyrinth (2006) by Jim H — 16 Jun 2015

Considered to be one of Guillermo Del Toro's greatest films, Pan's Labyrinth sounded like an unmissable dark spectacle.

With Pan's Labyrinth, it isn't as fantastical as I had thought. The narrative isn't perfect because while the fantasy themes and the real life story are both interesting of their own right, the way that the story darts back and forth between them is not always the most interesting. I felt like they were honestly two separate narratives, but that would partially because I don't know the historical context of post-Civil War Spain. But then again, this part of the narrative exists primarily as a means of supplying a simple backdrop for the fantasy tale. In actual fact, the film feels like a character oriented drama in a war torn and fantasy context which limits the scale of the story and makes it less conventional. Yet since I found myself isolated from the story context, the appeal came in through the dark fantasy elements and imagery for me. And in all honesty, I did not find that the quantity of imagery successfully lived up to my expectations. There is more time in Pan's Labyrinth spent showing the experiences of Ofelia with her mother and the story surrounding her stepfather Captain Vidal than anything else, and that made me feel like the film was misleading for its promotion as a dark fantasy film. Considering that there was genuinely so little use of fantasy and the story obsessed about its civil war drama, as well as some kind of supposed Roman Mythology. Incidentally, I feel that viewers need to be aware of a lot of history and mythology before actually going in to Pan's Labyrinth because without such awareness they are left with a stylish yet slow and even dull dark fantasy film which shows Guillermo Del Toro working hard to push the boundaries on what is expected of him. I admire his work as director and the stylish nature of the film, but the story itself just failed to grasp me because its underlying themes and concepts did not come across clearly to me, therefore leaving me confused and even bored at times.

The production values in Pan's Labyrinth are just exceptional. While Spanish or Mexican films tend to be rather repetitive in style for what I have seen, Pan's Labyrinth goes to an all new level. With Guillermo Del Toro's Hollywood experience, he combines a suitable budget with an eye for imagery not unlike that of critically acclaimed French filmmaker Jean-Pierre Jeunet. That general style combines with the somewhat Hollywood nature of the visual style which feels somewhat familiar to that of recent fantasy films such as Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events or Alice in Wonderland with a more dark edge to it. That is where the beauty comes into play because Pan's Labyrinth captures the innocent appeal of a fantasy film but pushes the limits on conventions and drives the story into darker territory in the process. The film depicts all kinds of original creatures who all have their own appeal which is both creepy and captivating in a way which the audience cannot turn away from, built upon a spectacle of detailed visual effects. The world around them is extremely convincing with the scenery being consistently rich with the appropriate colour and the production design and costumes all being so extensively detailed. The cinematography is also excellent because many of the shots are extensive and highlight the natural beauty of the production values in the film, as well as the genuine way that the film makes use of all of them with blood and gore, not afraid to embrace the dark nature of the tale with realistic violence. The stylish nature of Pan's Labyrinth is ultimately what makes it so memorable and worth the viewing because for a film with such a low budget, it is remarkable that Pan's Labyrinth is such an impressive visual experience. The imagery ultimately is just unforgettable because it is plain shocking at times, and I mean that in the remarkable sense of the word. The quality of the visuals in Pan's Labyrinth are unforgettable, and they combine with the musical score to make the film a dark and grim spectacle of atmosphere even when the story fails to match the quality of it.

The thing that compensates for the story in reaching out to audiences is the performances of a powerful cast.

Ivana Banquero delivers a powerful breakthrough performance in Pan's Labyrinth. Making a compelling character with her childish innocence, Ivana Banquero transcends expectations for the leading child in a fantasy story due to her ability to work through the dark themes of the film. Everything about Pan's Labyrinth is so dark, and she fearlessly steps up to all of it which has her interacting with the adult cast members with a supreme sense of professionalism about her. But more impressively, she works with the universe around her with a true sense of wonder, particularly with the CGI creatures. Ivana Banquero grips her character with a sense of ambitious wonder and genuine dramatic tension which shows her working with the legitimate drama and fantasy themes of the story.

Sergi Lopez also delivers a powerful effort, bringing the grim nature of the real world drama into perspective with dramatic competence and a fearlessness to really go for the edgy nature of the material. Ariadna Gil has some powerful moments when she shares a tense mother-daughter chemistry with Ivana Banquelo which feels very legitimate, and the physical acting of Doug Jones prove powerful beneath the captivating visual effects of Pan's Labyrinth.

So Pan's Labyrinth is a film which gets so caught up attempting to be a legitimate drama about the horrors of reality that it moves along at a slow pace without always dazzling viewers with its production values, but with powerful directorial work from Guillermo Del Toro, the wonderful style of the film fills Pan's Labyrinth with exceptional imagery and a powerfully dark atmosphere.