El laberinto del Fauno

Pan's Labyrinth written and directed by one of my most loved directors Guillermo del Toro was released in 2006, and I have been a proud owner of this film since 2006. I can watch it over and over again, and every time I enjoy it as though it were the first time. The dedication, creativity, sweat, tears, and pure genius of this director and his entire crew is certainly evident.

It was set during the Civil War in Spain, 1944, and although graphic, violent and bloody at times, it was a remarkable fairy-tale with smooth transitions and a colossal soundtrack about a girl's friendship with a faun, and about tasks she had to accomplish in order to return to her rightful home. The film is enchanting from all angles, with wisps of cotton in the air; magical fairies that take flight, scary fauns that camouflage, enormous, fat frogs that vomit up their insides and scary and terrible monsters that eat little children. The soundtrack by Javier Navarrete was beautifully written and composed and the audience is drowned in its lovely lullabies and violins despite the terrible times in which its characters live.

Ofelia played by Ivana Baquero, was the main character, and although she was small and un-doubtedly charming, my favourite character was the villain El Capitan Vidal played by Sergi Lopez. Although villains are the one's people usually despise, I found his performance outstanding, intense and with strong profundity; the fact that he is such a good-looker, didn't cease but help as well. The entire film was in Spanish, and for those who don't fancy the language, I assure you in this film you'd like it a bit more. The stories narrated throughout the film were tremendously magnificent; and to hear spoken in Spanish, for me, just gave it that much more wonder, appreciation and authenticity.

To give you a taste of the content of the film, which I found to be quite spiritual and thought-provoking, I'll leave you with some dialogue/monologue used throughout:

By El Capitan Vidal:

"I choose to be here, because I want my son to be born in a new clean Spain. Because these people hold the mistaken belief that we are all equal. But there's a big difference. The war is over and we won. And if we need to kill every one of these vermin to settle it, then we'll kill them all."

Story told by Ofelia to her unborn brother:

"Brother. Many, many years ago; in a faraway land; there was an enormous mountain made of rough black stone. At sunset, on top of that mountain, a magic rose blossomed every night that made whoever plucked it immortal. But no one dared go near it because its thorns were full of poison. Men talked amongst themselves about their fear of death and pain but never about the promise of eternal life. And every day the rose wilted unable to bequeath its gift to anyone…forgotten and lost at the top of that cold, dark mountain forever alone until the end of time."

Doctor played by Alex Angulo:

"To obey just like that, for the sake of obeying…without questioning, that's something people like you can do captain…"

The Faun:

"Look! This is a mandrake root. A plant that dreamt of being human."

"You broke the rules! We've made a mistake. You failed. You can never return. The moon will be full in 3 days. Your spirit shall forever remain among the humans. You shall age like them, you shall die like them. And all memory of you shall fade in time. And we'll vanish along with it. You will never see us again!"

Prayer said when Ofelia's mother dies:

"Because the paths to the Lord are inscrutable. Because the essence of his forgiveness lies in his word and in his mystery…Because although God sends us the message it is our task to decipher it. Because when we open our arms. The earth takes in only a hallow and senseless shell. Faraway now is the soul in its eternal glory. Because it is in pain that we find the meaning of life. And the state of grace that we lost when we are born. Because God in his infinite wisdom, puts the solution in our hands and because it is only in his physical absence that the place he occupies in our souls is reaffirmed."

If you like good stories; decent script and dialogue; excellent music; if you like fantasy; if you like nail-biting moments for opportunities to cuddle with a loved one or your favourite teddy-bear, then you should see Pan's Labyrinth. It makes for a brilliant movie night! J

I'll leave you with the final words from the film which went:

"Arise my daughter. Come. You have spilled your own blood rather than the blood of an innocent. That was the final task, and the most important....Come here and sit next to your father, he's been waiting for you so long….she left small traces of her life on earth, visible to only those who know where to look."