Pan`s Labyrinth

Introduction

2006 proved that the Mexican film industry is in good hands, with not only Guillermo del Toro, but also Guillermo Arriaga, Alfonso Cuarón, who co-produced `Pan`s Labyrinth` and made the superb dystopian thriller `Children of Men`, and the brilliant Alejandro González Iñárritu whose `Babel` was, like `Pan`s Labyrinth`, an Oscar winner.

I`ve always been a bigger fan of Guillermo del Toro`s European, and more personal, films than his bigger budget American features, so `Pan`s Labyrinth` (`El Laberinto del Fauno`) intrigued me immediately and I couldn`t wait to see it on the big screen. I did so, twice, and pre-ordered the DVD as soon as the opportunity arose.

Ofelia (Ivana Baquero) travels with Carmen (Ariadna Gil), her heavily-pregnant mother, to the Spanish countryside to join her step-father (Sergi López), a captain in General Franco`s army, who is flushing out Socialist guerrillas from the surrounding hills and wants his baby to be born there with him; convinced his wife is due to give birth to a boy, he insists that "a son should be born where his father is". Seeking escape from the step-father she hates and the unfamiliar surroundings, Ofelia meets a fairy who she follows into a nearby labyrinth where she is guided to a faun. He informs her that she really a princess and that, in order to join her real family, she must perform three tasks.

Del Toro follows 2001`s `The Devil`s Backbone`, set in 1938, with a film set in 1944 as the Allies land in Normandy and the guerrillas hope for help once Hitler has been defeated. The fascist nature of Franco`s Spain, personified by the brutal sadist, Captain Vidal, is mirrored in Ofelia`s enemies in the form of the monstrous `Pale Man` (Doug Jones, who also plays the faun) and a grotesque toad. Ofelia is advised by the faun how to help her mother`s troubled pregnancy, making Ofelia a double agent between the two worlds, as are the housekeeper, Mercedes, and the doctor, whose allegiances are firmly with the Republicans.

But is the faun real? Does he have his own agenda? Will Ofelia succeed and what will become of her? What will happen to Captain Vidal, his wife, the members of the household sympathetic to the guerrillas? In true del Toro fashion, the answers are never easy.

Video

Winning Oscars for Art Direction, Cinematography and Make-Up, `Pan`s Labyrinth` is a visually stunning film by one of the best visual directors currently operating. Fortunately, and as you should expect from a film only a few months out of the cinemas, the transfer does not disappoint, with a flawless picture and beautiful colour palette, although the contrast sometimes isn`t as deep as it could be. However, the contrast was exactly as it was in the cinema so in no way can Optimum be criticised.

Audio

The Dolby Digital 5.1 Spanish soundtrack is excellent, with clear dialogue and well balanced surround effects. The score is terrific and, especially `Mercedes` lullaby`, an integral part of the film. The DD 2.0 stereo track is also very good although, without the surrounds, a certain amount of the atmosphere is lost.

The English subtitles are clearly written and easy to follow; my Spanish is limited to "buenas dias" and, courtesy of `Pulp Fiction`, "¿Que ora es?" "¿Donde esta el zapateria?", so I cannot be counted as an authority on the veracity of the subtitles!

Features

On disc 1 is an audio commentary with Guillermo del Toro which, as with his others, is well-delivered, interesting, revealing and rewarding. He discusses practically every aspect of the film and the commentary complements the rest of the supplementary material well.

There are also `Other Releases`: a photo of the DVD box of `Cronos` and a trailer for `The Devil`s Backbone`.

Disc 2 has an introduction by del Toro and contains a plethora of supplementary material:
The interview with Guillermo del Toro at the NFT shows him in conversation with film critic Mark Kermode and they discuss the film, obviously following a screening, for nearly half an hour. Kermode`s questions are probing and relevant and del Toro answers them all well, providing his viewpoint on some of the more important elements of the film.

There are four main featurettes:
In `The Power Of Myth`, del Toro discusses his love of fairy tales and the way in which they have been interpreted for the film.

`DVD Comic Sketches: The Pale, the Fairies, the Giant Toad and Pan` consists of an image gallery.

`El Fauno Y Las Hadas` runs at 30 minutes and explains how the main visual effects, both CG and special make-up, were achieved; you see what Doug Jones went through in order to play the faun and the `Pale Man`.

`The Colour and The Shape` is a four minute featurette in which del Toro explains how the different colour palettes and shapes are used to distinguish between the different worlds.

There are four `Storyboard/Thumbnails Compares`, also with a prologue and `play all` option; these are interesting and shows you the storyboard sketches that del Toro drew, the improved versions that were drawn by an artist in Spain, and how they correspond to the finished film. Normally storyboard sketches aren`t that interesting, but the two drawings and the film run on the screen together, so you can switch your attention between them.

`VFX Plate compare: GDT and the Green Fairy` shows you how the `Green Fairy` was integrated into the film and corresponds with an explanation del Toro gave elsewhere.

The `Director`s Notebook` has a video prologue by del Toro and he goes on to show you six chapters from his notebook with drawings of characters, sets and notes that he made as long ago as 1993 and how the ideas were developed. These can be viewed individually or together using the `play all` function.

In `The Melody Echoes the Fairy Tale`, del Toro explains why he wanted a central melody for the film`s score and how he developed it.

`Mercedes` Lullaby` plays the tune hummed by Mercedes in a variety of ways, using different instruments, showing how one of the most important musical elements of the film was constructed.

There is also a Poster Gallery, trailer and an Easter Egg slideshow of sketches and production photos.

Conclusion

`Pan`s Labyrinth` can be seen as the culmination of Guillermo del Toro`s European films, which look at the responsibilities of children and how they meet them. In `Cronos`, a young girl must look after her grandfather when he becomes a vampire, `The Devil`s Backbone` tells the story of boys in an orphanage who must deal with both a ghost and a fascist caretaker. In del Toro`s latest project, a young girl on the verge of womanhood must cope with her sociopath stepfather and the challenging and terrifying tasks set her by a mysterious faun. As this concerns the struggles of a young girl with monsters both real and imaginary, `Pan`s Labyrinth` can be considered the sister film to `The Devil`s Backbone`.

Del Toro shows the power of imagination and that monsters can exist in both the real and fantasy worlds: the terrifying child-eating `Pale Man` echoes the sadistic and narcissistic Captain Vidal. It takes a filmmaker of real skill to develop two complex and intertwining stories, both as captivating as the other, and to tie them together to the point where the ending of the film harks to the beginning and practically demands a second viewing, which is then even more rewarding than the first.

Beautiful, evocative and haunting, Guillermo del Toro has created a terrific film, which can rightly be classed as one of the greatest ever in the fantasy/horror genre. The Mexican auteur has created something very special which is even better upon repeat viewing and can rightfully be described as a masterpiece. `Pan`s Labyrinth` was made for an incredible €13.5 million and shows that you don`t need huge pots of cash to create a work of real beauty and brilliance. I consider this to be the best film of 2006, just ahead of such films as `Hidden`, `The Departed` and `United 93`, and this DVD does full justice to a great picture.