Movie Review: Pan's Labyrinth

I certainly never read this kind of fairy tale growing up. Thank god! I would not have been able to sleep at night. This movie bears no resemblance what so ever to the Labyrinth of David Bowie. If anything it might be the type of thing Lewis Carroll would have cooked up if he was high on 'shrooms. In this tale, Alice fell down one seriously twisted rabbit hole.

While Ofelia may think she is living in a fairy world, it seems (for most of the movie) that she is merely exchanging one nightmare for another. In the real world, Ofelia is trapped in a run-down mill which her step-father, Captain Vidal runs as a fiefdom. His only pleasures appear to be the impending birth of his son and the torture of rebels and innocents who in his mind are guilty until proven innocent (which often happens only once they have paid his penalty). With her mother confined to bed rest, Ofelia is left to let her mind wander as she explores the mill grounds with their woods and stone labyrinth. Normal girls create fantasy worlds populated with princesses, fairies, pixies, and the like. However, tucked away in the midst of war, Ofelia's dream world is inhabited by crickets (her fairies), giant vomiting toads, and a strange, decrepit, somewhat evil looking faun.

Despite the fact that this is the darkest movie I have seen of late and that I spent much of the movie freaking out, I actually found it quite gripping and beautiful (you know in that ugly beautiful sort of way). Although the movie is at its core a fairy tale, the violent backdrop creates a thrilling/horrifying unpredictability, something often lacking in traditional, Hollywood horror movies. To me, it is the faun, Pan, that is the movie's scariest character. He appears in the guise of a fairy godmother, guiding Ofelia through the tasks that will allow her to return to her kingdom. Although Pan plays the part of her friend, there is something sinister about him in appearance and manner. His intentions are never clear.

The interplay between Ofelia's two worlds is well handled. Both rather dark and brutal worlds to begin with, they grow increasingly morbid and unfriendly with time. As day to day life within her step-father's compound grows more unbearable so to do the tasks she must complete to regain her throne. The saddest part of the movie is that even in her fantasy world, Ofelia cannot escape the horror of reality. And as her stay at the mill continues, the frequency and vigor with which her fantasy world intrudes on reality increases. The blurring between these two worlds, especially at the end, provides a bittersweet ending.

I am sure when all is said and done there must be a moral to this story, but I am not sure what it is. Figuring it out will probably take another watching (I always have problems with subtitles) and I am not quite sure I am ready for that yet. In fact, I have a feeling I will be having nightmares tonight populated with na-na-na boo boo monsters (see the movie and you'll know what I am talking about).