On this day, ten years ago, writer/director Guillermo del Toro (Hellboy, The Devil’s Backbone) brought us Pan’s Labyrinth, a grim fairy tale that was as beautiful as it was heartbreaking. The film was made for a modest $19 million and went on to take in over $80 million globally as well as earning nominations and wins from various Award organizations, including the Academy Awards, the BAFTAs, the Goya Awards, the Saturn Awards, and more.
Set in post-Civil War Spain in the mid-1940’s, Ofelia (Ivana Baquero) and her mother travel to a military outpost where she will meet her new step-father, Captain Vidal. A cold man, he has no interest nor love for Ofelia. Rather, he is far more interested in the baby that is inside her mother while at the same time being steadfastly focused on rooting out and eradicating local rebels. As a result, Ofelia is often left to her own devices. But being in the midst of violence, war, and death, she seeks solace in the confines of her own imagination.
It is there that she meets the Faun (Doug Jones), a creature who tells her that she is the reincarnation of Princess Moanna, a member of a royal family that rules the Underworld who encountered sunlight, went blind and lost her memory, and ultimately became mortal and passed away. However, to make sure that he is right, he assigns her three tasks to prove her identity and her worth.
What follows is a mix of fantasy and horror, of drama and suffering. Ofelia is desperate to complete these three tasks in the hopes that they can somehow help her mother recover from whatever is ailing her. However, the disbelief of the adults around her stifles her abilities. Furthermore, that there are constant battles being fought sometimes right around her make it difficult to finish the tasks given to her by the Faun, a journey she is unwilling to give up.
Throughout the film, del Toro expertly crafts a story of perseverance, imagination, commitment, and desperation. Refusing to pull any punches or hide the ugliness of war, del Toro instead puts it in the forefront, making us face the horrors that the real world has to offer. But he’s also aware that there is always beauty around us and it should be noticed. For all the death and destruction that pervades throughout the film, there is birth and love too.
I remember seeing Pan’s Labyrinth in theaters and openly weeping at the ending. A few years ago, I wrote a post for Bloody-Disgusting titled ““. In there I detailed my experiences growing up in a family where sickness was “normal”. It was my daily life to see children who were most likely going to die of their respective illnesses, to speak with them, to sit with them, to try to make them smile, if only for a few moments. So when I saw Ofelia doing everything she could to help her mother, I found myself empathizing enormously. In those moments, I was Ofelia. I was her desperate need to want to help, even if I didn’t know the best way to do so. And I was also her aching need to want to find something beautiful, something worth smiling for.
I sit here today and think about Pan’s Labyrinth and I feel myself choking up because it still hits home. It’s still a punch in the gut as a reminder of everything I went through yet it is also a reaffirming tale of hope and wonder. Even the ending, which is nothing short of heartrending, brings with it a terrible beauty. Ofelia’s death may have robbed whatever innocence was left in those around her but she held onto it until the last breath left her body. Would that we all passed on such a beautiful journey, feeling like we’ve come home.
While I could speak endlessly about the stunning cinematography by Guillermo Navarro or the gorgeous music of Javier Navarrete, none of it would matter if we didn’t have the story by del Toro, a man who was willing to look, unflinching, at the world through the eyes of a young girl who wanted to be a Princess in the middle of a war.
