Overview
“Pan’s Labyrinth” (Spanish: El laberinto del fauno) is a 2006 dark fantasy/historical drama film written and directed by Guillermo del Toro.
Set in 1944 Francoist Spain, five years after the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939), it depicts a girl who wanders into a labyrinth in a forest for eternal happiness.
It is del Toro’s second film against the backdrop of the Spanish Civil War and Francoist dictatorship, following his “The Devil’s Backbone” (2001).
It stars Ivana Baquero, Sergi López, Maribel Verdú, Doug Jones, and Ariadna Gil.
Cinematography by Guillermo Navarro. Music by Javier Navarrete.
It was a co-production between Spain, Mexico and the United States. The language is Spanish. 120 minutes.
Plot Outline
A long time ago, in the underground realm, where there are no lies or pain, there lived a princess who dreamed of the human world.
Princess Moanna visits the human world, where the sunlight blinds her and erases her memory. She dies. The King believes that her spirit will return to the realm, and he builds labyrinths around the world, which act as portals for her return.
In 1944, anti-Francoist rebels in the mountains continue resistance against the dictatorship after the end of the civil war.
Eleven-year-old Ofelia (Ivana Baquero) has lost her father, who was a tailor, in the civil war. Her pregnant and sickly mother Carmen (Ariadna Gil) remarries Captain Vidal (Sergi López), who leads an operation to wipe out rebels in the mountains.
Carmen and Ofelia start living with Vidal in an old gristmill in a forest.
Ofelia is a dreamy girl who likes fairy tales.
Vidal is a cruel man. He only cares about his son who would be born by Carmen, and he gives Carmen and Ofelia the cold shoulder. Ofelia feels scared of her stepfather Vidal.
Vidal’s housekeeper Mercedes (Maribel Verdú) treats Ofelia kindly. Mercedes’s brother Pedro is one of the rebels hiding in the mountains, and Mercedes is secretly supporting Pedro and other rebels with Doctor Ferreiro, who is a doctor in the service of Vidal, but an anti-Francoist.
One night, being led by a fairy in the shape of an insect, Ofelia steps into a labyrinth in the forest, where she meets a faun (Doug Jones), who tells her that she is the reincarnation of Princess Moanna.
The faun tells Ofelia that she will be able to return to her realm if she passes three tests before the full moon shines in the sky.
Commentary
The film “Pan’s Labyrinth” is composed of scenes in two worlds: the real world and the fantasy world which Ofelia wanders into.
The fantasy world is depicted realistically in the style of magic realism. Though it is a scary world like a nightmare, where monstrous creatures live, such as a giant toad and a man whose eyes are in the palms of his hands (the Pale Man), it is the second reality for Ofelia.
In the film, the story unfolds by telling episodes in the fantasy world in parallel with events in the real world.
The high points of the film are its grotesque but enchanting scenes of the fantasy world, which were produced by use of special makeup, animatronics, and CGI. The visual effects and CGs were produced by CafeFX.
In the film, it is not clear whether Ofelia’s experience is real or a product of her imagination. How to interpret it is up to the viewer. The ending of the film is tragic, but it can also be interpreted as a happy ending.
The film is not aimed at children because it includes graphic expressions, such as murder, violence and torture. In the United States, it was rated R (under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian) by MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America).
The film was premiered at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival.
It won numerous international awards, including three awards (Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, and Best Makeup) in the 79th Academy Awards, and three awards (Best Film Not in the English Language, Best Costume Design, and Best Makeup and Hair) in the 60th BAFTA Film Awards.
Plot (Spoiler Alert)
A long time ago, in the underground realm, where there are no lies or pain, there lived a princess who dreamed of the human world.
Princess Moanna visits the human world, where the sunlight blinds her and erases her memory. She dies.
The King believes that her spirit will return to the realm, and he builds labyrinths around the world, which act as portals for her return.
In northern Spain in 1944, anti-Francoist rebels in the mountains continue resistance against the dictatorship after the end of the civil war.
Eleven-year-old Ofelia (Ivana Baquero) has lost her father, who was a tailor, in the civil war. Her pregnant and sickly mother Carmen (Ariadna Gil) remarries Captain Vidal (Sergi López), who leads an operation to wipe out rebels in the mountains.
Carmen and Ofelia start living with Vidal in an old gristmill in a forest.
Ofelia is a dreamy girl who likes fairy tales.
Vidal is a cruel man. He only cares about his son who would be born by Carmen, and he gives Carmen and Ofelia the cold shoulder. Ofelia feels scared of her stepfather Vidal.
Vidal’s housekeeper Mercedes (Maribel Verdú) treats Ofelia kindly. Mercedes’s brother Pedro is one of the rebels hiding in the mountains, and Mercedes is secretly supporting Pedro and other rebels with Doctor Ferreiro, who is a doctor in the service of Vidal, but an anti-Francoist.
Vidal mistakes a farmer, who hunted for rabbits, and his son for rebel supporters and shoots them to death.
One night, a large stick insect morphs into a fairy and leads Ofelia into an ancient stone labyrinth in the forest.
Ofelia meets a faun (Doug Jones) in the underground of the labyrinth. The faun tells her that she is the reincarnation of Princess Moanna of the underground realm.
The faun tells Ofelia that she will be able to return to her realm if she passes three tests before the full moon shines in the sky.
Ofelia completes the first test, retrieving a golden key from the belly of a giant toad living within a big tree.
Ofelia starts living alone in the attic because her mother’s condition is worsening. Vidal orders Doctor Ferreiro to cure his wife’s illness.
Mercedes visits the rebel base in the mountains with Doctor Ferreiro and delivers goods to them. One of the rebels, named Francés, suffers a severe injury to his left leg. Ferreiro amputates his left leg.
The faun gives Ofelia a mandrake root, and instructs her to keep it under Carmen’s bed in a bowl of milk and put two drops of blood in it every morning. Ofelia does as he says, and then Carmen has relief of symptoms.
The faun gives Ofelia the second test. He instructs her to draw a door with a piece of magic chalk, and set an hourglass after the door opens, and then follow the lead of fairies. He tells her to return before the sand in the hourglass runs out, without eating and drinking anything.
Ofelia chalks a door on the wall of the attic and plunges through the door.
A child-eating monster without eyes, the Pale Man (Doug Jones) is sleeping, sitting at a banquet. There are two eyeballs on a plate on the table.
Being led by fairies, Ofelia opens a locker with the key and takes a dagger from it.
Ofelia eats two grains of grape on the table, awakening the Pale Man. The Pale Man puts eyeballs on the palms of his hands, devours two of the fairies, and chases Ofelia, but she manages to return to her room, escaping from the Pale Man.
The rebels have a gun battle with Vidal’s troops in the mountains. One of the rebels (a man with a stammer) is captured as a captive by Vidal’s troops. Vidal tortures the captive.
Ofelia confesses to the faun that she ate grapes. The faun tells her that she can’t return to her realm because she violated the prohibition.
The captive asks Doctor Ferreiro to kill him. Doctor Ferreiro euthanizes him.
Realizing that Ferreiro is a rebel collaborator, Vidal shoots him to death.
Carmen dies after giving birth to Vidal’s son.
Vidal discovers that Mercedes is a spy. Mercedes escapes with Ofelia, but they are caught by Vidal’s troops.
Ofelia is locked in her bedroom. Vidal tries to torture Mercedes, but she stabs Vidal with a knife and escapes into the forest. She rejoins the rebels.
The faun gives Ofelia a chance to take the final test. He tells her to bring her newborn brother into the labyrinth.
Ofelia takes the baby away from Vidal’s room and flees into the labyrinth. Vidal pursues her.
The rebels launch an attack on the outpost of Vidal’s troops.
Having the dagger, the faun tells Ofelia that opening the portal to the underground realm requires offering a small amount of the blood of an innocent. He tries to draw blood from the baby, but Ofelia refuses to harm her brother.
Vidal takes back the baby from Ofelia and shoots her with a gun.
Being surrounded by the rebels, Vidal hands the baby to Mercedes. Pedro shoots Vidal to death.
Mercedes finds Ofelia dead deep in the labyrinth.
Ofelia finds that she has returned to the underground realm. In a golden throne room, she meets the King and the Queen.
The King tells her that she passed the final test by choosing to spill her own blood in place of an innocent.