Muleskinner

Issue date: 2/8/07 Section: Features

Fable - Director Guillermo del Toro's new film, Pan's Labyrinth, explores the imagination of a young girl in Spain during World War II. The film has been nominated for an Academy Award in the "Best Foreign Language Film" category.

When I first saw the previews for a dark, new fantasy, I was intrigued to say the least. Alas, it was only playing in a handful of theaters in the country, none of which were within 300 miles of here.

Finally, though, the latest creation of Guillermo del Toro came to theaters nation-wide, available for all curious movie-goers to give it a try.

Pan's Labyrinth, written and directed by del Toro (who brought us the mediocre Blade II and Hellboy), tells the story of young Ofelia, a young girl living in the fascist regime of Franco's Spain in 1944.

Ofelia and her pregnant mother, Carmen (Adriana Gil), have moved into the country to live with Carmen's new husband. As Ofelia leaves the life she knew behind, her already active imagination begins to run at an astounding rate.

All around her she sees evidence of a world long dead and an ancient magic that needs someone to believe again before it is lost forever.

Very early in the movie, we are introduced to Carmen's new husband, Capitan Vidal (Sergi Lopez). It is very rare for me to wish someone a slow and painful death, but I was perfectly willing to make an exception in this case.

The Capitan shows his black heart from the beginning, making it clear that his wife Carmen is nothing more than an incubator to him. He rules without mercy, torturing and killing any with the courage to step out of line.

Vidal is the epitome of the evil of the real world that Ofelia is so desperate to escape from.

On one of her many wanderings through the forest that is now her home, Ofelia comes across an ancient labyrinth, built in a time that no one remembers.

At its center, down in a cavern, Ofelia meets a faun named Pan (Doug Jones), and the dark fantasy of this amazing little girl begins.

Pan tells her that she holds the spirit of a princess that left the beautiful underworld kingdom long ago, and that her father is eagerly awaiting her return. However, to prove that her immortal spirit is untarnished, she must complete three tasks that will require every bit of bravery and ingenuity Ofelia possesses.

As her world becomes darker and more dangerous, Ofelia sinks further and further into her own fantasies, despite the fact they are just as dangerous.

She risks her life repeatedly in the hopes of returning to a home that she has never known but is desperate to believe in, hoping not to face the same abandonment she feels in this life.

This film that it is not for the faint of heart, nor is it a light-hearted adaptation of the warped tales of times past.

Ofelia's imagination is just as dark as her surroundings, and viewers get the feeling that even those she trusts in her own world may not be what they seem.

Pan's Labyrinth shows humanity at its worst and a young hero struggling to maintain an innocence that is warped and dying because of the horror she lives with.

The brilliance of this film lies within every aspect of its making. The images of Ofelia's imagination are astoundingly vivid, and the story, though based on various folklore, is something we haven't seen before.

The acting could not have been better, with one of the few 11-year-olds that could have pulled of the role of the hero, as well as the brutally evil portrayal of Vidal by Lopez.

Whether this film was political commentary in the guise of a new fairy tale or the other way around, I can't say.

Del Toro presents a story of imagination and courage in the darkest of times without proving or disproving the magic in the heart of a little girl.

He simply tells a story that shows us even when the price seems higher than we can bear, eventually the light will shine again.

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