Pan's Labyrinth

When you see at least three movies per week, you start to think of them differently. You begin to realize that there are a limited number of stories in circulation out there so, instead of giving stories themselves much consideration, you begin to focus on execution.

Then, a movie like PAN'S LABYRINTH comes along. Not only does it give us a unique, universal, engrossing, and thought-provoking story; but it also excels in its execution. Truly innovative, imaginative films such as this remind us of what thin gruel we often accept when we sit down for a movie.

PAN'S LABYRINTH takes place in a specific time and place - 1940s Spain, and in a place out of time - Faerie. Creator Guillermo del Toro circles between and among the two in a series of seamless transitions that leave us wondering what is real, what is imaginary, and what is more real than reality. He does it through the stories of Ofelia , an 11-yr-old girl, and Capitán Vidal, an officer in Franco's fascist army and Ofelia's new stepfather. When the film opens, Ofelia and her (pregnant) mother are enroute to join Vidal at his outpost in the Spanish woods. Once they get there, Ofelia discovers Pan, a creature out of myth who may be evil; and the nature of her stepfather, who is definitely evil. As the film progresses and the two characters find their fates, we begin to see how they fit into the movie's whole. It's not an easy fit, in that their journey and our journey with them can be profoundly uncomfortable, even horrifying. Further, their journeys aren't easily encapsulated or analyzed. I'm still working through several of the film's thematic elements, and I suspect I'll be chewing on this one for quite some time.

So, yes, PAN'S LABYRINTH boasts a complex, adult, and thought-provoking story. It also creates a fully-developed world, rich in detail, that offers visions both of profound beauty and staggering horror. Speaking of the latter, I thought that film had long since lost the ability to frighten me with monsters, but I was wrong. This film's Pale Man, a subterranean monster that feels like something from blackest nightmare, struck fear in my heart from the moment I saw him. Once he started moving, I wasn't just pleasantly scared at the movies - I was little boy in the dark scared. What brilliant setup, design, and execution of the character and his setting: everyone from conceptual designer William Stout to actor Doug Jones to del Toro himself united to create a masterpiece within a masterpiece, and it's horrifyingly wonderful. That's just one example, however. Be it the fascist outpost in the heart of the forest or the ancient pagan monuments nearby, everything about these
places and those who live therein feels both organic and elevated, mundane and mythic. It's great work.

Y'know, I can't think of anything PAN'S LABYRINTH did wrong. I only wish I hadn't sent it back to Netflix quite so quickly. As I write about it, it occurs to me that I'd like to see this movie a second time, and a third. This is a movie I could get lost in, again and again. Much as I enjoyed HELLBOY, I didn't think del Toro had a film like this in him. I'm so happy I was wrong.