Starring: Ivana Baquero, Sergi López, Maribel Verdú, Ariadna Gil, Álex Angulo and Doug Jones

Director: Guillermo Del Toro

Synopsis: Five years after the end of the Spanish Civil War, Ofelia (Baquero) and her pregnant mother, Carmen (Gil) travel to Francoist Spain to live with Carmen’s new husband, the ruthless Captain Vidal (López). After arriving, Ofelia meets a Faun (Jones) who tells her she is the uncrowned princess of the underworld, and that she must complete three tasks to truly earn her everlasting kingdom.

I was vaguely familiar with elements of Guillermo Del Toro’s most famous fairytale in the fourteen years prior to watching, particularly the scene in which Ofelia encounters the terrifying Pale Man. However I was completely unaware as to what the actual story entailed, and truth be told it was definitely not what I imagined. Over the years I’ve been under the impression that this was a full on quest film focusing on a young girl making her way through the labyrinth, so imagine my surprise when seeing a plot point focusing on the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War! That’s right, Del Toro does not rely purely on fantasy and instead adds a fierce realism with the storyline that sees Spanish Maquis guerrillas making a stand against the Francoist Dictatorship led by Captain Vidal. Vidal is the driving force that makes us all the more caring and sympathetic towards our protagonist and other heroes, thanks to the magnificent performance from López, who truly aces being a despicable leader, as well as a neglectful husband and father.

Of course, great villains (regardless of acting performance) are pointless without heroes we want to root for, and Baquero is fantastic at portraying the young heroine, Ofelia, who now has everything, but ultimately has nothing, making her quest all the more important. Though her relationship with her mother is strong, it’s hindered by the impact of Carmen’s marriage and pregnancy, and while this allows Ofelia to become greater acquainted with Mercedes (Verdú), Vidal’s housekeeper who has her own secrets and duties to take care of, Ofelia never really has anyone who she can truly communicate with on a personal level. It is this, however, that makes the scene where she hovers over her mothers stomach and tells her unborn baby brother how she’ll protect him and make him a prince all the more emphatic and beautiful a moment. It’s the film’s most perfect depiction of Ofelia and how much she cares for her family and also believes in the importance her quest.

It’s mostly during her undertaking of the quest she’s been assigned by The Faun that we get to see the wonderful ways in which Del Toro and his team have used make-up and CGI. I think it says a lot of the quality that the giant toad Ofelia encounters for her first task is the lesser of the lot, as it does look quite good even with the stellar improvement of CGI in the last decade. It’s the makeup applied to Doug Jones as both The Faun and The Pale Man that will continue to live long in the memory and though the former is more impressive in regards to the detail and outright quality of design, but everything about The Pale Man is what I’ll remember about this film. Del Toro shows just how good he is here with the creativity for a fairy eating monster with eyeballs in its hands and the intensity of the scene as a whole. You know what’s about to happen when Ofelia starts eating the grapes, and that makes it all the more unnerving.

The most surprising thing about Pan’s Labyrinth on first viewing is the brutality of it and the few moments of swearing that immediately make you reevaluate what to expect. This might be a fantasy film, but it’s most certainly not a film for families to enjoy together. Instead Pan’s Labyrinth is a dark, graphic and bittersweet take on the fairytales you and I watched or read as children, and it’s remarkable.

Rating: 4.5/5