By Bethany Hutchens

Gargoyle staff reporter


Posted Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2007, The OG, arts

“PAN'S LABYRINTH,” OR “El Laberinto del Fauno,” billed as a “fairy tale for adults,” is exactly that.

More reminiscent of tales by the Brothers Grimm than the sugary fairy stories of today, the characters that director Guillermo del Toro creates are both fantastic and frightening, the “good” creatures as well as the “bad.”

Pan's Labyrinth, set in Spain in 1944, follows Ofelia (Ivana Baquero), a young girl who moves to the countryside with her pregnant mother (Ariadna Gil) to live with her new stepfather, Capitán Vidal (Sergi López), who is an officer in the Spanish army.

Their new home is a base of operations from which the army battles the communist guerrillas in the aftermath of Gen. Francisco Franco's Nationalist victory in the Spanish Civil War.

Ofelia and her mother find themselves in the midst of a war filled with atrocities and violence, most perpetrated by Ofelia's sadistic and maniacal stepfather.

To try to cope with her situation, Ofelia creates a fantasy world in which she is the potential ruler, but which becomes more and more frightening as her own situation worsens.

Her fantasies provide a surprisingly appropriate background to the violence of the guerrilla warfare. Del Toro cuts between the two stories expertly, never letting either languish, eventually blending the two into a frightening picture of Ofelia's abandonment and loneliness.

“Pan's Labyrinth” is visually stunning, and the visuals provide the main meat of the film. The fantasy characters are especially well-done.

Del Toro is probably best known to English-speaking audiences for directing “Hellboy” (2004) and “Blade II” (2002). Here he tweaks ordinary fairy tale creatures, such as fauns and fairies, until they become slightly disturbing.

The title character, the faun, is no cute goat-like creature but a giant craggy beast with long sharp fingernails and opaque, rheumy eyes. This adds greatly to the overall dark feel of the film.

Despite being primarily a visual film, the acting is also superb, especially that of López, who portrays the egotistical and vicious, albeit brave, Vidal (who in one scene sews up his own wounded face), and Maribel Verdú, who plays the courageous maid Mercedes, who risks her life to help the guerrillas.

“Pan's Labyrinth” transcends genre to a class of its own. Visually magnificent, and deeply disturbing, “Pan's Labyrinth” should not be missed by anyone.

“Pan's Labyrinth” is now playing at Boardman's Art Theatre (click here for times), Beverly Cinema 18 (click here for times), and Savoy 16 (click here for times). Runtime: 112 minutes. Rated: R.

RELATED

— The film's official site