|
Tuesday, 30 January 2007 14:36 |
By JIM GENARO
As any fan of the Brothers Grimm knows, macabre fairy tales are nothing new. The whitewashed fables that many of us grew up on, with their happy endings and sanitized violence, are a fairly modern invention ÇƒÓ classic fairy tales often have more ominous origins.
"El Laberinto del Fauno," (English title, "Panës Labyrinth") is a cinematic fairy tale in that tradition of stories meant for the strong of heart ÇƒÓ and certainly not for children.
The
film, by Mexican director Guillermo Del Toro ("Hellboy"), bridges the
horrific and the fantastic in an environment that is part surrealistic
fairy tale and part war drama.
The story takes
place in Spain during the aftermath of the countryës civil war.
Francoës fascist party has won, but a number of fighters are still
holding out in various outposts, hiding in the mountains and carrying
out attacks on military targets.
The filmës
protagonist, Ofelia (Ivana Baquero) is a young girl who travels with
her pregnant mother to live with her new stepfather, the nefarious
Capit?∞n Vidal (Sergi L??pez).
Vidal is a
merciless tyrant, the commander of a military unit stationed in the
north of the country to fight a small pocket of insurrectionists.
Vidal is the
epitome of the fascist military officer: a violent and abusive
overlord, who rules his subjects with an iron fist and at one point
gouges out the eyes of a suspected rebel before killing him (the man is
subsequently discovered to be innocent).
Ofelia is
immediately terrified of the world she suddenly finds herself
inhabiting. However, everything changes one night when she is greeted
by a fairy ÇƒÓ which morphs itself from its initial shape as a bug. The
fairy leads her into an ancient labryinth in the nearby woods, where
she meets Pan (Doug Jones), who proceeds to tell her that she is the
reincarnation of an immortal princess.
To return to her true home, the faun tells her, Ofelia must accomplish three tasks before the next full moon.
For the duration
of the film, the plot splits into two alternate realities: one a tale
of warfare and a brutal madman in charge of an entire village; the
other, a macabre fairy tale in which Ofelia confronts and must defeat
various enemies.
The most
terrifying of these enemies is the Pale Man (also played by Jones), a
monster whose removable eyes reside in his hands and who is apparently
an eater of children.
Stockpiled in
the corner of the monsterës hall is a pile of shoes ÇƒÓ presumably of his
victims, an image that elicited thoughts of Nazi concentration camps
(World War II is in full swing during the story).
The film is
carried by very strong performances by the actors, particularly
Baquero, L??pez and Maribel Verd??, who plays Mercedes, Vidalës servent ǃÓ
and secretly, an agent of the resistence.
Furthermore, the
fantasy scenes are quite well-executed. The fairies, particularly, are
a delight (though not, by any means, typical).
In fact, I
would like to have seen more of the film take place in this world.
Considering the heavy play the filmës producers gave to its status as a
fantasy movie in their promotional materials, they might be accused of
misleading audiences ÇƒÓ much more of "Panës Labyrinth" is about war than
about Pan or his enchanted labyrinth.
My other main
criticism of the movie is its often-gratuitous violence. While
realistic violence can sometimes be a powerful tool, "Panës Labyrinth"
several times crossed the line into sensationalism.
For instance, a
scene in which a manës gangrened leg was amputated with a saw left
nothing to the imagination. It makes one wonder what ever happened to
subtelty in films?
That said,
"Panës Labyrinth is definitely worth seeing. Just be prepared for a
dark and troubling experience. And definitely leave the kids at home.
|
