Pan's Labyrinth

Let me start this review by giving some details about the genre of story telling we know as "Fairy Tales". This genre of known as "Fairy Tales" was never originally intended for children. In fact there is a lot of historical evidence which points to the fact that most of these old stories were written by adults and meant only for adults. The original nature of "Fairy Tales" was not meant to make you feel all good inside and nor were they to always end with "And they all lived happily ever after...The End". As others have pointed out we can all blame Disney for "dumbing" down this type of genre of story telling. Neither was this form of story telling meant to always include "High Fantasy". A lot of "Fairy Tales" actually have only bits and pieces of fantasy in them to help further a story along and to draw in the listener/viewer/reader further into the plot. I wont go to deep into the plot of this film but the director Guillermo Del Toro seems to go back to the roots of the original and lost art form of "Fairy Tales". Guillermo Del Toro in my honest opinion does an outstanding job of interweaving fantasy with reality. Yet he does not allow the fantasy portions of this film to overwhelm the reality based portions or the viewer. The fantasy portions are meant to force you to make that extra emotional leap. To engage you further into a main story which is all so cruelly based in reality. The reality being the post-Spanish Civil War era in Spain and a little girl with a cruel and self-absorbed step-father who is an officer in the Franco's fascists military. Guillermo Del Toro then wraps it up with a great group of actors and a hard hitting ending. My only complaint is that as others have noted the fantasy portion at the end might have been added to appease American audiences. You'll know what I mean when you see the movie and get to that part. The reality portion of the ending stood strong without the need to include a semi-happy ending if you can call it one. The movie does hit the viewer very hard emotionally. Frankly speaking I'll be honest and admit that as a man I did cry at end. I couldn't help it because maybe I just have a heart and a soft spot for kids. I feel that any movie, book, song, poem, etc that can draw out a strong emotional reaction has reached the apex of its art form in its given genre. Oh and yes there are portions of this film that are extremely violent and should not be viewed by younger children. As others have noted this move has an "R" rating for a very good reason as it's meant for adults only. Besides I'll doubt that many young children could keep up with a foreign film done entirely in Spanish let alone understand the slight and subtle plot twists of this movie including the ending. P.S. This is a master piece of a film. To dub this film into English would be like dubbing Karl Orff's vocal portions of "Carmina Burana" into English. For those who are angry that this movie is done entirely in Spanish well all I can say is that you should learn to speak a second language for goodness sake! Or just learn to deal with subtitles in foreign films and try to follow along with the story as best you can. Our society is going to become increasingly more globally oriented as technology and time march onward toward the future. The very nature of our increasingly global economy will demand that you if not your children learn at least a second language. This will grow increasingly true for every other generation hence afterwards when you, I and your children's generation are no more. If you had no idea that this movie was a foreign film then I can understand and forgive the confusion but at least try to give this film a chance.

MOVIE: Pan's Labyrinth is the most beautiful and exquisite film I have seen in the last few years. Guillermo Del Toro has crafted a masterpiece of cinema that slowly bends reality into fantasy. The film is about a young girl named Ofelia who is living in post-war Spain. Her father has died and now she and her pregnant mother are traveling into the country to live with the prestigious Captain Vidal, whom her mother has now remarried with. Captain Vidal is introduced in an early scene as a barbaric murderer who is only interested in Ofelia's mother to bear his child so that his son can grow up with his name. Ofelia escapes into a world of fantasy and horror that is equally as disturbing as the real life events going on around her with the war. There are two parallel storylines in the film. The one that deals with Ofelia in the world of the labyrinth and the storyline with Vidal dealing with revolutionaries who live in the mountains. The brilliant part of the film is that Del Toro juxtaposes Ofelia's world with the real world. For example, in one part of the film Ofelia must encounter a creature who has eyes in his hands, and even though he sits in front of long table of food he still craves innocent children and innocent creatures. Directly before this scene we see Captain Vidal hosting a giant dinner party where he sits at the head of the table. It's symbolism at its finest. Credit also has to go the superb art direction, make up and visual effects that transport the audience into Ofelia's world. The make up on the faun that instructs Ofelia to complete the tasks is unbelievable. The film takes us deep into the darkest part of the human realm and sends us on an unforgettable journey. Javier Naverette's beautiful score plays a huge role in creating the world of Pan's Labyrinth. I honestly believe it would be a crime if he does not win at the Oscars. He is the only composer nominated worthy of the statue. ACTING: Ivana Baquero is absolutely stunning in this film as Ofelia. She plays the character beautifully and makes the audience care for her every step of the way. The supporting cast is just as good. Sergi Lopez makes a very convincing and evil Captain Vidal. I think Vidal should be considered as one of the better screen villains in last decade. Credit also should be given to Doug Jones who plays the faun also known as Pan. Jones is one of the better known costume actors in Hollywood and previously worked with Del Toro on Hellboy. He even learned a little Spanish for the role. BOTTOM LINE: The film medium was created specifically for films like this. Pan's Labyrinth is a rare masterpiece that will stand the test of time. Nothing about the film is unoriginal, it stands on its own as one of the most original pieces of filmmaking in recent memory. I know the film isn't playing at every theater, but every effort should be made to go out of your way to see it. A film that will stay with you long after you see it, it truly must be experienced.

On the front of the DVD it says, "On the same altar of High Fantasy as The Lord of the Rings Trilogy." Hopefully by now, everyone knows that J.R.R. Tolkien is the writer that penned that famous trilogy and with the help of Peter Jackson, made fantasy popular again. Unfortunately, that little sentence on the cover of the DVD is EXTREMELY misleading. By simply mentioning "Lord of the Rings" the average consumer is going to think, "Oh, Orcs, Hobbits, Wizards, Magic and huge battles with looming castles." Not quite. Pan's Labyrinth is as good as Lord of the Rings, but it is not the same. It is like comparing apples and oranges. If you really wanted to compare Pan's Labyrinth, it is more comparable to the works of the "Argentine Tolkien" JORGE LUIS BORGES. And the director himself even cited him as an influence. "Wait", you say. Who is this Borges guy you're talking about? And right there that explains why they had to compare this to Lord of the Rings. The average person is not going to know who Borges is, even thought that would have been a better comparison. Borges was fluent in many languages, did lots of reading and wrote many short stories and poems. One recurring topic of his (among many): Labyrinths. If you ever read some of his stories, there is some fantasy, but it's mixed in with literature. Just like Pan's Labyrinth has some fantasy, but is mixed with reality. Also of note, Borges has influenced writers such as Umberto Eco, who wrote "The Name of the Rose", and even features a character in his honor, Jorge. Hopefully after reading that, you will now understand what type of fantasy this is. It is not like Tolkien, but is as masterfully done as Tolkien. As for the movie itself: STORYLINE: The storyline is part reality and part fantasy. It is very similar to something Jorge Luis Borges would have written--thought-provoking and intelligent. MUSIC: The simple lullaby fits in so perfectly with this movie--especially towards the end. It's a little ironic, because a lullaby gives you that warm and fuzzy "everything is safe" feeling, but then there's the harsh reality. ACTING: All the characters did an excellent job at their roles. I was especially impressed with Mercedes. COSTUMES/SPECIAL EFFECTS: I tire of the big-budget, special effects laden movies that are flooding the market. There are some fantasy creatures (some of which look like they came right out of Jorge Luis Borges' bestiary, the "Book of Imaginary Beings"), but they have a nice puppety '80's look to them. Most impressive was the monster that had his eyes in his hands--that was very original and reminded me of the oubliette with hands in "Labyrinth". Simple, but effective. Overall, this is a great Great GREAT movie. I saw it in the theater twice and out of all the fantasy books/movies I've encountered from Robert E. Howard to Tolkien to Borges to George RR Martin, this is easily some of the best fantasy I've ever experienced.

Before I get into my thoughts on the film, I should clarify what I mean by the review title for the people unfamiliar with "Spirited Away." Released in Japan as 千と千尋の神隠し (Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi, "Sen and Chihiro's Spiriting Away"), "Spirited Away" is an animated film by Hayao Miyazaki that details a young girl's accidental journey into the spirit world, a world of secrets unseen by most that is inhabited by a plethora of fantastical beings, some relatively harmless, others deadly. "Pan's Labyrinth," in part, details a young girl's accidental journey into the underworld, which is also unseen by most people and also inhabited by fantastical beings. The difference here is that while Chihiro, the main character in "Spirited Away," wishes to escape the spirit world and return to "our" world, Ofelia, the main character in "Pan's Labyrinth," wishes to escape "our" world, for she lives in post-civil war Spain, where her stepfather, a ruthless captain, is fighting a group of guerrillas. Ofelia and her mother are both with him because Ofelia's mother is pregnant with the captain's child, and the captain wishes for the child to be born near him. Ofelia takes an immediate disliking to the captain, who her mother wants her to address as "Father." Rather than become accustomed to her new home, she decides to explore the grounds, carrying one of several books of fairy tales she brought with her (her mother thinks she is too old for fairy tales), and discovers a large labyrinth, which Mercedes, a cook whom Ofelia befriends, says is old with an unknown purpose. Some time later, a mysterious insect Ofelia calls a "fairy" leads her through the labyrinth to a spiral staircase which descends into the ground. At the bottom is an altar...and a faun, who emerges from the shadows and changes Ofelia's perception of the world and her place in it forever. To reclaim that place, the faun says, she must complete three tasks before the full moon lights the night sky, tasks which test her courage, her determination, and her will to live. Unlike "Spirited Away," "Pan's Labyrinth" balances the two worlds it features, so while viewers may prefer one over the other, and while one is seen more than the other, neither is more important than the other. Both have issues which must be addressed by the characters and provide insight into each character's behavior and personality, which in turn helps the viewer identify with them (or distance himself or herself from them), and brilliant use of CGI and animatronics helps make the creatures of the underworld seem as real as the film's human beings. With them, del Toro, and by extension, Ofelia, is able to explore the ideas of doing what one is told versus doing what one believes is right, innocence and its place in the world, and whether what we perceive as reality is, in fact, reality. This is a film I thoroughly enjoyed and will definitely watch again, and I recommend it to anyone who's intrigued by the idea of "a fairy tale for adults," to anyone with an open mind, and/or to anyone who has the slightest urge to find out what all the fuss with this film is about.

It's a great movie but the disc skipped a few times

This is one of the most imaginative and unique films I have seen in years. It is a dark fairy tale for adults and is not a children's movie. The film is a mixture of fairy tale and dark realism since it combines images from the Mediterranean's pre-Christian mythologies with the horror of Fascism in Franco's Spain. The overlap between these two concepts, classical mythology and fascism, is violence and threat as well as unreasonable power over the powerless. Myths often involve heroic action, often taken by an innocent person or child, that helps overcome the forces of evil. The film is very skillful in combining these concepts where they are verbalized by the mythical creatures but we see a parallel world in reality as the rustic peasants develop resistance to the forces of fascism. The transitional character between the fantasy world of mythology and the harsh world of fascist reality is a little girl, the daughter of the new wife of a Fascist officer. She travels between these world through an ancient labyrinth hidden in the woods outside the fascist compound. Here she meets mischievous fairies but also a somewhat threatening and mysterious faun who is ambiguous as to his full intentions. The faun is identified as Pan, the child of the god Hermes, who was the god of transitions and doorways. She is told she is the Princess Moana and must undertake 3 tasks to gain her rightful throne. As in many myths, this child is given three tasks to claim their rightful position with the gods. This puts our young heroine into danger not only when she is in the labyrinth performing tasks but also when she is with her mother and step-father among the fascist and hidden resistance fighters. The adventures within the mythological world with a giant toad full of slime to an amazing monster who is awakened when someone eats from his table and who sees through eyeballs in the palms of his hands. To achieve the tasks prescribed by the gods and to overcome the evils of fascism, resilience and creativity are required and so once again we see overlap between the two worlds. Monstrosity can be reflected in the world of imaginary monsters but also in the acts of the fascists as they torture and kill innocent villagers as well as resistance fighters. The young female protagonist is not fully protected from the evil of her step-father by her weak mother, suffering with a difficult pregnancy and childbirth. She does not feel fully protected and she is indeed vulnerable to the dark gaze of her dark murderous step-father. She is most protected by the housekeeper who plays many roles in this complex film. Children may retreat into fantasy when threatened but this poor little girl finds a fantasy world that demand much of her and a real world full of real dark threats. This film has some of the best integration of fantasy and reality since A.S. Byatt's the Dijin in the Nightingale's Eye or the works of Borges. This film has a different feel to it from a Hollywood production, since it has some ragged ends and images that are more European than North American. This is part of the film's strength. The Pan creature for example would have probably been more of a Santa Claus with goat legs if the film had been made in Hollywood. Instead, he is mysterious and ambiguous in a world with little clarity. The child actress Ivana Baquero plays the child Ofelia. She does a super job. Sergi Lopez plays her evil, cruel, fascist step-father Captain Vidal. He is an excellent actor and he has the ability to radiate threat on the screen. All scripts, sets, costumes, special effects, and cinematography were excellent. It all comes together into a great film.

If you watch this movie and do not sniffle, you might not be human. It's not a happy movie. As a friend said, it can be a bit brutal. But it is also graceful, full of wonder and strangeness. It's sad and lovely and creepy. Don't worry; there are no spoilers here. You learn almost all these facts in the first few minutes of the film. This is the story. It's about a little girl. This is the other story. It's also about a little girl. In the first story, the little girl is the daughter of a tailor. He father is dead and her mother has remaried, and they are going to live with the new husband in his home in the woods. In the other story, the little girl is a princess, daughter of a king who rules below the ground. She envies sunlight and flowers, and runs away to the mortal realm above her head. In the first story, it is World War 2 and the little girl's new father is a Captain in Nazi Spain. Her mother is pregnant with his child, a son. He guards the valley through which the trains run from his headquarters at the old mill. In the second story, the princess dies above ground, old and cold and far from home. And her father says: her soul will come back to us in some other way, and we will wait until the end of time for her. In the first and second stories, there is a dark old labyrinth in the woods, near the old mill.... In this story the fair realm the tailor's daughter wanders upon is as dangerous, as strange and difficult to navigate as the real world; there are monsters a plenty, and the fairies are not sweet children with wings. Trust is as strange and thorny there as anywhere, and promises have weight and texture. Even the tales she tells in the real world for her own comfort, her fairy tales, have no happy endings; just prickly questions and loose ends that sit inside your mind and make you a little uncomfortable. Her fairyland is the fairyland that folks once knew, where punishment for laziness and pride lurked around every corner and stupidity would definitely get you eaten.

This movie is a masterpiece. Not a single shot unneeded, not a single moment overdone. It is not a fairy tale in the escapist tradition Disney has so succintly mass produced. This is a story that will draw you in, spin you around, make you scared, elated, fascinated but never willing to stop seeing the next moment. Wonderfully shot and choreographed, just a master with an amazing tapestry. The PR write-ups don't do it justice because it's not a tale of good vs evil; its a tale about good and evil. It's heart-breaking, awe-inspiring, and life affirming. It's everything you could imagine in a terrifying tale that involves a young, optomistic girl caught in disasterous circumstances by currents of events far beyond her comprehension. There are several scenes of sudden violence that are so effective and so immediate, you cannot really prepare for them. I started wtaching this film accidentally because I wanted to load it on my iPod for an upcoming trip. I ended up watching the whole thing on the Mac AND still uploading it. For example, the encounter between the Capitaine and the rabbit hunters left me gaping with my mouth covered, still not believing what I had just seen. Thus, heed the R rating and don't let a child watch this. It has images, amazing and scary, that will not leave your head for awhile. Finest film of the year. I wish I had seen it in the theatres.

Me llego en el paquete en perfecto estado y en un tiempo muy adecuado, respecto a los envios desde Alemania. La edición es muy buena, la pelicula se ve muy bien en Blu-ray y en perfecto castellano, al ser una pelicula española, y sin susbtitulos quemados alemanes. Gran compra por el precio que la compre, 29€ + 12€(envio), y gran servivio de envio.

En perfecto castellano el audio, calidad sobresaliente. Los textos en pantalla aparecen en alemán con subtítulos, pero por el precio ha merecido la pena, y es que el DVD se queda muy muy corto de calidad en escenas oscuras como la introducción.

Le "Labyrinthe de Pan", un véritable chef d’œuvre et une grosse bouffée d’émotion personnelle. Envoûtant, tragique et violent tout en apportant sa féérie. La véritable idée du film est de partager le film en deux parties: Le conte et la guerre ... Les créatures sont très bien faites et ont un design très appliqué, les effets spéciaux sont très bons et la photo est superbe!!!

Guillermo del Toross neuer Streich ist ein starker Film, mit sehr guten Schauspielern (Sergi López als Capitán Vidal, Ivana Baquero als Ofelia und Maribel Verdú als Mercedes) einem phantastischem Score (Javier Navarrete), einer genialen Kameraarbeit (Guillermo Navarro) und einer phantastischen Story (Guillermo del Toro) im wahrsten Sinne des Wortes. Durch den guten Schnitt von Bernat Vilaplana, sind die Szenenübergänge sehr flüssig und man kann der Story immer gut folgen. Hört sich vielleicht für den einen oder anderen Leser hier ein bisschen übertrieben an, aber wer diesen Film nicht im Kino sieht, der wird es im nachhinein bereuen und das sage ich nicht nur aus einer überschwänglichen Laune heraus. Del Toro steht nicht für normale" Kinounterhaltung, seine Filme sind immer etwas außergewöhnlich bzw. anders, und Pans Labyrinth ist bis jetzt sein bester. Mich hat der Film auch ein bisschen an Alice im Wunderland erinnert, was nicht als negativ aufgefasst werden darf. Grausame Umstände lassen ein Mädchen in eine unterirdische Fantasiewelt flüchten, in der sie auf unheimliche und fabelhafte Kreaturen trifft, die ihr drei Mutproben auferlegen und sie mit ihren Ängsten konfrontieren. Pans Labyrinth kann man nicht beschreiben aber wenn ich es in drei Worten tun müsste, dann würde ich ihn als "grausam, unwirklich und schön" bezeichnen. Der Film ist sehr gewalttätig und wer das kritisiert, hat die Aussage vom Regisseur nicht verstanden. Es geht im Film um die "grausame Wirklichkeit (Realität)" und die Bestie KRIEG, welche aus den Menschen Monster macht. Der Capitán ist dieses Monster, welcher blind Befehle befolgt und zu jeder Grausamkeit bereit ist. Ofelia flieht vor dieser grausamen Wirklichkeit in Pans Labyrinth und am Ende vermischt sich alles zu einer phantastischen Realität. Dabei hat die Filmmusik einen immer wieder auf die Situation perfekt eingestimmt. Helden sind für mich immer solche Menschen, die sich überhaupt nicht als Helden sehen. Deswegen war ich von Maribel Verdú als Mercedes mehr als nur begeistert. Sie verkörpert eine unglaubliche Stärke und Entschlossenheit, dabei ist sie nur die Küchenmagd. Persönlich hätte ich mir gewünscht, dass die Rebellen ein bisschen besser beleuchtet werden. Dass ist auch mein einziger Kritikpunkt und der Grund warum der Film keine volle Punktzahl erhalten hat. Dadurch wirkt der Film ein bisschen wie schwarz/weiß Malerei. Auf der einen Seite die bösen Faschisten und auf der anderen die guten Rebellen, welche Gewalt mit Gegengewalt bekämpfen. Die Kreaturen der Unterwelt tragen viel zu diesem phantastischen Film bei. Was hier die SFX-Schmiede geschaffen hat, hat man so noch nicht gesehen. Der Pan ist einmalig und war so noch nie in dieser Form auf der Kinoleinwand zu sehen. Seine Stimme, die Bewegungen und viele kleine Details wie z.B. das Knirschen von Ästen, wenn er sich bewegt, tragen viel zu seiner Glaubwürdigkeit bei. Die abstrakte und sehr angsteinflößende Kinderfresser-Kreatur, mit seinem knochigen Körper, der faltigen weißen Haut und seinen Augen in den Handflächen, wurde auch perfekt in Szene gesetzt. Die Kröte in der ersten Aufgabe wirkte dagegen ein bisschen künstlich und war einfach nur eklig. Nach dem Ende bleibt man im Kinosessel sitzen und muss den Film verdauen. Das Ende ist perfekt und kann von Person zu Person anders aufgefasst werden. Ich persönlich bin ein rationaler Mensch und hatte meine Version vom Ende. Meine Freundin dagegen klatscht jedes Mal bei Peter Pan um Glöckchen zu retten und ihr Ende von Pans Labyrinth ist demnach ganz anders. Am Ende bleibt es jedem selbst überlassen, was er glauben will! Darüber eine Diskussion zu führen ist sinnlos. Fazit: Genießt dieses Meisterwerk aber geht nicht mit falschen Erwartungen in den Film! Es ist kein Horrorfilm, sondern ein Fantasy/Kriegsdrama!!! Wenn dieser Film keinen Oscar gewinnt, dann weiß ich wirklich nicht weiter. Pans Labyrinth ist nicht nur ein Meisterwerk, sondern auch ein Kunstwerk und sollte von jedem anspruchsvollem Kinogänger gesehen werden. Für mich bis jetzt (23.02.2007) der stärkste Film des Jahres!

Ofelia (Baquero) loves reading fairytales and during the 1944 Spanish war, she is asked by a faun to complete 3 tasks which will make her a princess. Guillermo del Toro (Hellboy) uses his visionary genius to bring a dark and dramatic fairytale to life in this Oscar winning picture. Filled with surprises, dramas and a dark twists upon fairytales, Pan's Labyrinth is both different and unique in its own genre and fills a viewer's watching requirements with stunning entertainment throughout. The general surprise of seeing a fairytale told in such a dark and dramatic way is what makes the film so appealing. How many fairytales are realistic? How many are dark and reflect the true nature of their time? All run on the same format and offer no new thrills, but Pan's Labyrinth is unique and brilliant in achieving that diverse effect. Toro's direction, plot and the costume design all come together superbly to achieve a dark and dismal reflection on Ofelia's life, and believe the plaudits, because this is one of the finest and imaginative films you will ever see. Toro is lining up to become the next Tim Burton with the use of dark materials and gothic imagery. The writing is equally impressive with plenty of twists and turns and a strong focus upon each character's personal issues. There was slight confusion regarding the beginning in relation to the ending on the first watch, but it is well worth watching again. The plot is driven by fantasy and escapism, with Ofelia desperate to escape the war and set things right. Baquero is excellent as central character Ofelia and will set your hearts racing with a brilliant young performance. Each character is interesting, from the stubborn and violent Captain Vidal to the silent and professional Mercedes, the film portrays realism through the realistic characters and their lives. The writing and dialogue keeps the audience hooked as Toro delivers twist after twist in a highly dramatic plot. The use of fantasy was a necessity and was pulled off tremendously well, through the use of unbelievable creatures. From a gigantic frog to a blind hellish creature, Toro gives viewers a variety and an image that will be cemented into anyone's memory forever after watching. The settings help achieve the graphic and dark imagination behind the creatures, none more so than the labyrinth. Pan's Labyrinth simply achieves everything that a good film should need to, great direction, plot and characters. 9/10