Pan's Labyrinth: The Imagination of Guillermo Del Toro

Pan's Labyrinth is everything the critics say it is and more: the film of the year, and in my opinion the best fantasy after The Lord of the Rings. Most fantasy doesn't take itself seriously enough to earn an R-rating, but Pan is that rare exception: a fairy-tale for adults, definitely not for young kids, though suitable for teens who like this sort of thing.

Let me stick to a Lord of the Rings comparison, because I find it curious that the best fantasies come from directors who began their careers in the horror genre. Peter Jackson's Dead Alive is still hailed as the goriest film ever made. That and other early films are different from his recreation of Tolkien, but there's continuity just the same: the Nazgul resemble the spectre from The Frighteners, and decapitated orcs in gritty battles really push a PG-13 rating. Even Galadriel is terrifying. I cringe to think how these elements might have played in the hands of lightweights like Spielberg or Lucas.

Del Toro's The Devil's Backbone could almost be regarded as a prequel to Pan's Labyrinth. Both are set during the Spanish Civil War and center on a child who reacts strangely to misery and violence. In Pan 11-year-old Ofelia retreats into an underground labyrinth to escape reality, and finds her wonderland to be as menacing as Spanish fascism. On top of that, it's not clear how real or imaginary the labyrinth is. But her stepfather is very real, as evil as fascists come. He relishes torture, and isn't kind to her at all.

With Jackson, Del Toro shares an uncommon respect for the fanatasy genre, and a refusal to make things easy on his protagonists. Sympathetic characters die (you'll have to see the film to find out who), and it doesn't seem that good can ultimately triumph. Pan's ending is as tragic and unhappy as that of Lord of the Rings, a refreshing antidote to films like Willow and Legend. One critic nicely describes it, without giving too much away:

"The story has two final images that linger in haunting, unresolved tension. Here is a princess, smilingly restored to her throne, bathed in golden subterranean light. And here is a grown woman weeping inconsolably in the hard blue twilight of a world beyond the reach of fantasy." (A.O. Scott)

It's as bittersweet as the Grey Havens, where Frodo sails away to die, and the elves depart for good with their magic. Don't miss the film. I doubt we'll see another of its kind for a long time.

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