Beware: Enchantment, Great
Filmmaking and Grisly Violence Await
PopcornReel.com Movie Review: "Pan's Labyrinth"
By Omar P.L. Moore/December 28, 2006
Behold the great, grand, gothic
vision of Guillermo Del Toro: it is nothing short of a spectacle of magic and
menace, all wrapped in one two hour fantasy fairy tale fable. "Pan's
Labyrinth", known to most people around the world as "El Laberinto Del Fauno",
gets off to a frustratingly slow start -- in fact a plodding, tormented start --
until just after the 45-minute mark, when it explodes to life. Set in
Spain 1945, just after the end of World War Two, Del Toro's film centers on the
adventures and imagination of young Ofelia (Ivana Baquero) who ventures through
the Spanish countryside while the war is coming to an end. While on her
travels Ofelia descends into a dark greenish-blue inferno-like spiral, where she
encounters a locust that thanks to supremely good special effects turns into Pan
(Doug Jones), who guides the young girl to end curses by following specific
instructions that can end the evil that lurks above ground.
The perfect juxtaposition to this dungeon-like labyrinth are the above ground
machinations of the vicious and unrelenting Vidal (played with unconscionable
violence and inhumanity by Sergi Lopez), a former sergeant soldier for Spain in
the war, who kills regardless of whether he awakes on the wrong side of bed.
Before the audience grasps the gravity of Vidal's depravity his henchmen have
already beaten the face off an unwitting victim. Ofelia's mother Carmen
(the remarkable Ariadna Gil) frequently warns her daughter about the dangers of
wandering off by herself in the countryside, but kids being kids . . .
As bulwarks against the graphic brutality of Vidal and his bunch of degenerate
disciples stand the Doctor (Alex Angulo) who straddles between delight in his
capacity to heal and advise, and doom in the tense relationship he has with
Vidal. For almost the whole film the Doctor steps on egg shells and dodges
minefields in his interactions with the demanding Vidal. Mercedes (Maribel
Verdu of "Y Tu Mama Tambien") the housekeeper also walks on pins and needles
with the violence-happy Vidal, yet displays a fearlessness (and unexpected
streak of her own) that poses a more than interesting match for the sources of
evil.
Guillermo Navarro's cinematography is terrific, a fully-realized vision of
danger, magic and malevolence. Doug Jones is busy here, playing two
different special visual effects characters, including the
Pale Man,
and the costume design in "Pan's Labyrinth" is also commendable. The film
has a grotesqueness to it that echoes David Cronenberg's "Naked Lunch".
While "Labyrinth" is uneven for a long while, when it does explode into
full-blooded adventure it doesn't take its foot off the pedal -- ever. And
it must be said, nor does the violence, which is unsparing in its graphic
nature. Where most cameras would cut away from such horrors, Mr. Del
Toro's camera is only too happy to languish over stabbings, slicings, beatings,
shootings -- yes, you see it all here. Be warned -- the violence, while an
illustration of the Grimm Tales' of Hansel and Gretel, which this film is
clearly modeled after as a fable and allegorical story -- is the stuff of pure
Grand Guignol theater and not for those with a weak disposition. This
reviewer defies you to keep your eyes to the screen all the way through this
film. Can you meet the test?
While the undisputed star of the "Pan's Labyrinth" show are the visuals and
amazing production design, the visceral physical performance of Sergi Lopez is a
guilty pleasure. He is so *bad* that there are occasions where you might
-- just might -- find yourself rooting for him (yes, after you see this film
that may be hard to believe, but you should think about the imprint that the
unredeemable nature of Vidal leaves on you.) There are memorable scenes,
most of them violent (you get the idea by now) but aside from Mr. Lopez, Ivana
Baquero and Maribel Verdu perform admirably in this adventure fantasy film, a
film not for kids and definitely not for all adults.
"Pan's Labyrinth" opens tomorrow (Friday, December 29) -- it is rated R by
the Motion Picture Association Of America for graphic violence and for language.
Hold on to your lunch. The film's duration is one hour and 52 minutes,
while in the UK its duration is 1 hour and 59 minutes. Australia, Germany,
Argentina and Japan are among the countries that Mr. Del Toro's film will open
in. In the U.S., the film is in Spanish-language with English subtitles.
(Photo of Ivana Baquero as Ofelia: Teresa Isasi)
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