A Tribute to Pan's Labyrinth

I know this film was released at the end of last year, but I still can't get enough of it. I have rented it again this week and I still love this movie. No matter how many times or different ways I view it, there's always something there that help me appreciate the film more. I just want to share my love of this film on the site.

So what makes this film so remarkable? Well, a lot of things. But first, let me start with one of the most noticeable parts: the technical work. This film is absolutely stunning in terms of visual design. The cinematography is beautiful, with every shot a work of art. It works so well that you forget you're watching a movie and it almost feels like watching flip show of beautiful artwork. It also works that the colors are so vivid that you're eyes will soak in every bit of it. The art design is also masterfully done, creating a sense that you are really traveling back and forth between the real world and the world created by Ofelia. And since this part of the film goes hand and hand with the color/cinematography section, it makes it all the more stunning. Probably the best part though is the make-up design, with the creatures of the Labyrinth being rendered in a beautiful yet terrifying way, just like the original fairy tale creatures. The best has to be The Pale Man, who is a wonderful representation of a dispicable creature.

However, the film is much deeper than a story with a lot of technical superiority. The story that Guillermo Del Toro tells is involving and significant. Though set in the overused era of WWII, this setting never feels cliche or too familiar. Maybe because it's not a WWII movie. This movie is a classic fairy tale, both beautiful to tell but also horriying to experience. While the message underneath is encouraging, the presentation is realistically dark and forebodding. No one in the film is truly happy, as the atmosphere is oppressive and haunting. But that makes the film better, since it is exactly what a fairy tale like the ones from The Brothers Grimm should be like. It's meaningful and symbolic, not cheesy and carefree. Also, the music is absolutely amazing. It contains all the essence of a fairy tale and fits so perfectly that you almost forget it is there (which is what music should do in a movie). The music should have won Pan's Labyrinth its fourth Oscar, but it was unjustly and undeservedly given to Babel just because it wasn't going to win anything else (that film's original music was no where near as good).

Now as for the screenplay, this is in a league of its own. Obviously we Americans aren't used to hearing foreign languages, but thankfully Del Toro writes and directs the story in a way that is universally understood even past the words. The expressions and motivations of the actors speak louder than any of their dialogue so that you understand it even if you don't know the words. And though the English version has subtitles, Del Toro makes it where the subtitles don't distract from the scene behind it (a smart move on his part). It also helps that the dialogue (as it is translated) and scenes are fresh, original and intelligent, with no groan-inducing cliche fairy tales lines or plot points to screw up the gritty reality of the situation. Del Toro definately deserved the nomination for his screenplay, though he probably should have been nominated for his directing as well.

Speaking of directing, talk about your inspired direction. This is truly Del Toro's masterpiece in terms of his directing of it. It's good that he's found the genre and story he's comfortable with, cause it does him no good to pander in mediocre action films like Blade 2 or Hellboy. The pace Del Toro sets for this film is perfect for the story, as it is slow but never droning. It functions at the appropriate speed needed for the story to progress. Almost all of the scenes are directed to the best they can get. From the beautiful opening sequence to the incredibly sad death of the doctor Ferreiro, Del Toro never lets a scene be unneeded or lackluster. Sure, some scenes are incredibly brutal and somewhat sickening (particularly the scene where the captain beats a poor man's face in before shooting him and his father), but that just shows that Del Toro knows what he's doing. He knows what reaction the audience should be getting. He knows how powerful to make a scene. He knows how to make the scene serve the story. And that is the brillance of his direction.

Now for my favorite part of the film I like to judge: the acting. While most English speakers won't understand them without subtitles, there's no doubt or confusion to how well the actors perform. Ivana Baquero is simply amazing as the main character Ofelia, a young girl who creates an alternate world to escape the horrors of her step-father's base. Baquero plays the part in a way that is subtle in its delivery but so loud in its emotion that it makes her character all the more memorable. She's not a damsel in distress or a no-brained little kid. She is a real girl caught in a real situation, with only her imagination available to set her free. Also among the top performers (and probably the most memorable character for the wrong reasons) is Sergi Lopez as the evil Captain Vidal. This character is such a dispicable human being that you really grow to hate his very exsistence. This isn't a bad thing, cause that means Vidal and Del Toro perfectly expressed the character. Lopez does such an amazing job with that that it is easy to forget he is acting. However, he does more than just be a cold hearted machine. You actually connect (so to say) with the character cause he actually has a motivation, a past and desires behind his exterior. He has things he collects from his past (that broken pocketwatch in his pocket), he has weaknesses and he can express some humanity at times (though not often). In a way, Vidal is probably the most human character in the whole story just because we understand him so well that it's sickening. Pretty much the whole cast is on top of their game, including Verdu as the resistance double-agent, Angulo as the double-agent doctor and even the man who plays the stuttering prisoner captured by Vidal (it's so sad to see him after he's torturred). You forget that anyone is acting here, as each person pretty much becomes his or her character. The biggest kudos though has to go to Doug Jones just because he had to wear all that make-up and still be amazing in his performance. To think he that he can't speak any Spanish, yet he can learn when to talk and when not talk so well that you forget he's being dubbed. Plus, his performance overall of both Pan and The Pale Man are both stunning just because they feel so different.

Now, this may surprise people, but I found that Pan's Labyrinth actually had a lot of religious significance to it. This isn't some bull cooked up by a religous person, this is a non-biased view of the movie. It's very subtle in this part, but if you look carefully, the film is pretty much a representation of life through the most ideal beliefs of Christianity, mostly portrayed through Ofelia. She enters her new world with very little details about her past. She has to deal with a life that filled with sin and evil. She discovers a new way of living through the servant of a higher being. She has to follow a set of commands to reach her true glory. She experiences sin through disobedience. She experiences redemption. She pays a sacrifice for her cause. And in the end, she receives glory. If you think really hard, this is pretty much a movie seeped with religion. Characters represent many ideas or people from the faith (Pan is a prophet, the doctor is in a loose way the savior, Vidal is the Devil, etc.) and the theme of celestial glory is abundant. When I first discovered this, I was surprised. Then I realized that most fairy tales do have some religious ideas behind them, so it came around as a "how did I not realize that?" kind of thing.

Pan's Labyrinth will remain a classic for many reasons. It's beautiful to watch, it's wonderful to listen to and it is such a deep and meaningful story. Del Toro has now entered the group of filmmakers who can justifiably be called artists. This is his masterpiece.