‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ is set during a particularly violent period in Spain’s history – 1944, the struggle between the fascist rule of the dictator Franco and pockets of resistant rebels in the country. It gets even more specific and personal as a young girl, Ofelia, and her recently widowed mother, travel to a distant rural region in northern Spain to join the captain in charge of a barracks that the former widow has married. Captain Vidal is an especially brutal and sadistic person, which we witness almost immediately in his displeasure with Ofelia and her mother arriving fifteen minutes late and shortly after that, in his encounter with a couple of men out hunting rabbits who he suspects, incorrectly of being rebels.

Ofelia, probably about 11 or 12, is deeply immersed in her fantasy and fairy tale books that she keeps with her constantly and is also given to drifting into fantastical scenarios that may or may not be real. The first night she spends in her new home, a fairy appears before her and leads her into a labyrinth behind the house, where she encounters a Pan-like faun creature. The faun informs her that she’s really a princess from long ago who has been cast out of the kingdom to live among the mortals. He gives her three tasks to complete, each one hard and gruesome. If she completes these successfully, then she shall be restored to her former place in the kingdom with eternal life but if not, she will remain where she is, as a mortal.

Ofelia moves back and forth between this realm and the harsh tableau of rebel/loyalist fighting on her doorstep – her mother’s new husband, a force of evil unto himself, beyond the conflict, and her mother, lying bedridden at the end of a troublesome pregnancy. The violence continues to escalate as Captain Vidal’s campaign to exterminate the hold-out rebels becomes personal. All of this is happening in front of Ofelia, who also probably has not had a chance to recover from the death of her father a year or two earlier. In the magic realm, she earnestly tries to accomplish her assigned tasks but one small mis-step holds the possibility of disaster and a fall from grace.

Guillermo del Toro tells a dark and beautiful story in ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ about a young girl’s struggle to find some sort of integrity in the midst of horrific violence and betrayal from the adults that surround her. Ariadna Gil does a wonderful job as Carmen, Ofelia’s mother; her confusion and desperation for a rescue drives her to an extreme measure in marrying the monstrous Captain Vidal, played chillingly by Sergi Lopez, who played a similar evil role in ‘Dirty pretty Things’. Maribel Verdu and Alex Angulo are Mercedes and Dr Ferreiro, respectively, and each does an excellent job of portraying someone on staff at the barracks who appear one way but have other lives they go to. The real kudos go to Ivana Baquero, who captures the sadness, terror and hope in the character of Ofelia; her large eyes and solemn expression only hint at what she has seen and where she’s had to go to stay afloat in these parallel worlds. Del Toro also opts for a more low-tech feel to the special effects which works well, given the period, mid 1940s, and also lends a more fantastical element to the film.

Three of us went to see this film and three theories emerged as to what was actually portrayed by Ofelia’s experiences in the labyrinth. First, looking at this clinically, it could be said that Ofelia was psychotic and her scenes in the fantasy dreamscape were evidence of a psychotic break from reality. Second, it could be looked at as political allegory with the fantastical elements posed against the reality as a depiction of good and freedom against the harsh evil of the repressive fascist regime. Or, it could be taken as an example of magic realism in film storytelling, serving as a reminder that even in the harshest, most brutal reality, there can be a place of sanctuary and respite.

Marc Goldin currently lives in Chicago, with three cats, each one more long-haired than the last. Interests have ranged from medieval monasticism to discontinued stations on the London Underground – literary likes too diverse (some would say schizo) to list here although the last several years have been witness to an intimacy with Scottish and Irish literature. American Southern and Beat era lit also account for some of the ‘missing years’. Music tastes run the gamut from Cuban Danzon to Ska (all three waves but having a specific attachment to the second, two-tone period) to the Tuvan throat singers. Has written book reviews for a now defunct Irish literature site and has several short stories in various stages of development. Mad for black and white photography and aspires to someday have a complete collection of photos documenting every close in the Grassmarket area of Edinburgh. Works in the IT dept. of a French company in the current political climate. In football, supports Chelsea, Hibs, and for the sake of employment security, Marseille. For more articles and reviews by Marc on The New Review, click here or to read Marc's story, 'Plastic Paddy' on the Showcase, click here.

© 2007 Laura Hird All rights reserved.