Pan's Labyrinth on DVD (2006)

Dark and moving

Carrie Stewart from London, England [Highly rated reviewer] , 05/01/2007

I was highly ignorant of what this film would be about. I had seen and heard very little about it, which may have been a good thing. I imagined a young girl being sent to live with this evil guy, overcoming adversity through the aid of a loveable faun. Doesn't that sound nice? (And should David Bowie pop and sing at some point, more's the better. Yes I know it's not that Labyrinth.) I could not have been more wrong if I had tried. What I got was mainly a story of war with snippets of fairytales thrown in, and evil, scary fairytales. The parts set in the real world were highly disturbing, with the Captain being a very vicious man happy to beat people to a bloody pulp on a whim, torture and murder without batting an eye. And our heroine is not safe either. So she happily takes on the faun's tasks that will see her return to the underworld and be free of the Captain. Brilliant tasks, especially the one that sends her underground with one of the scariest film monsters I've ever come across. The man with eyes in his hands. Stay away from the grapes love! Shudder.

This is an excellent film, just not what I expected. Ivana Baquero does a great job of carrying such weighty stuff on her shoulders, and the Captain is perfectly played. The effects were also very good, not too over the top, very realistic, especially the gory bits (though I didn't see that much of them I'll be honest). It was also very moving and did bring tears to my eyes at the end. I really recommend this, but go into it with eyes open, it's certainly not one for the kids.

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There are good films and great films, then there is Pan's Labyrinth. Dark, Magical and Utterly Unforgettable.

Oliver Shorley-Smith from Bedfordshire, England [Highly rated reviewer] , 20/12/2006

Set in 1940s Spain after the civil war when Franco came to power, Pan's Labyrinth is a story of a little girl called Ofelia, who travels up to northern Spain to live with her pregnant mother and new stepfather - known as 'Captain Videl' - psychopathic fascist ideology is what makes this man tick. To overcome the injustice and brutality of her life Ofelia finds a beautiful if not equally brutal alternate reality that beckons her to stay.

Everything about this film is just perfect. The special effects are amazing, not just for the fantastic mythical creatures Ofelia meets (Who can forget Pale Man?!), but also for the short scenes of violence. For example when Videl has to sew up his own cheek, every squelch and bead of sweat is visible as he slowly puts the needle through his own flesh, you are of course watching a close up of it all aswell! The script, although in Spanish, has some very intelligent lines about the evils of Ofelia's world, Woe to those who want to watch it dubbed, it'll make the film lose its magic.

The film's message is comparable to the society of the 1940s but the lessons you will learn are just as important especially in this right winged paranoid society we live in today. We all want to believe in a fantasy of a perfect world, we get promises from the people in charge that things 'will' change if just believe and do what they say no questions asked, but life should never be that easy. Always question what your told!

The film escalates towards its unforgettable heart rendering conclusion via masterful direction and story telling. Speical effects, scripting, acting and overall atmosphere of the film are second to none!

If you are reading this review, you are probably thinking about renting this film anyway, just go for it!

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Pan's Labyrinth

A customer from Tonbridge, Kent , 29/11/2006

In 1944, the early days of Franco's Spain, Ofelia (Baquero) is taken by her heavily pregnant mother (Gil) to live with her new stepfather (Lopez), a General in Franco's army, fending off rebels from the nearby woods.

Finding only one person she can relate to in these new surroundings; cook Mercedes (Verdu) Ofelia is drawn to the woods.

There she meets a faun (Jones) who tells her that she is not Ofelia but the long lost daughter of the king of the underworl and that to reclaim her place there she must do three task before the moon is full.

Guillermo Del Toro is one of the most interesting filmmaking talents to have emerged in the last decade or so. Since his debut, the creepy modernist vampire movie Cronos (1993) he's operated his career on a basis of 'one for me, one for the studio' mixing his more personal Spanish language films with Hollywood outings like Blade 2 (2002) and Hellboy (2004). Del Toro has said that Pan is not only his most personal film but the one he is proudest of. It is no challenge to see why.

The fantasy element of the film is simply extraordinary. The fantasy world of the film is meticulously and gorgeously constructed but that's merely the half of it. What really makes that side of the film play is the fantastic dual performance of Doug Jones (the body of Abe Sapien for Hellboy) as both Pan and The Pale Man. His physicality is a gift to both characters. Pan is alternately seductive and creepy and so there's a real mix of emotions when, towards the end, he hugs Ofelia. It's The Pale Man that leaves the greatest impression though. White skin hangs from him in folds, his eyes sit not in his face but on a plate on the table he sits at, until he places them in eye sockets in his hands. This arresting image is one thing but the gait that Jones gives him and the sound effects which sound almost like bones breaking as he walks add so much that he's one of the most memorable characters of the year.

Away from the world of fauns, pale men and fairies is a story about very real horror. The brutality of Franco's soldiers, as portrayed here anyway, is shocking, though the bloodhsed is mostly offscreen. It's here that the actors, most notably Maribel Verdu and Sergi Lopez as an almost archetypal evil stepfather, really come into their own. The downfall of most fantasy films is that the real world scenes don't ring as true or hold as much interest, that's not the case here. Mercedes' story is as involving as Ofelia's and the threads all come crashing together at the end in a shocking and emotional climax.

Through all of it young Ivana Baquero, just 11 during shooting, is the centre point of the film. If she's not good then it all falls apart. Thankfully she's not merely good, she's excellent, playing complex emotion truthfully throughout.

Pan's Labyrinth isn't the best film of 2006 but that speaks only to how good the year has been at the cinema. This is an exceptional film, one which will find an extended audience on DVD and delight just about any and all who see it.

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Pan's Labyrinth

Jane from Hertfordshire, England [Highly rated reviewer] , 19/04/2007

A very good film and for those who enjoy foreign films it is definitely worth watching!

However don't be mistaken into thinking it is a light entertaining fantasy film, it is quite a dark film which reflects the brutality of war.

The fantasy secenes are definately escapism not only for the main character but for the viewer aswell.

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Pan's Labyrinth

A customer from Linlithgow , 18/08/2008

Such a weird film - infact struggle to say anything about it - bizarre !

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Good special Effects

Diddy1980 from Leeds , 18/08/2008

This film was fantasic to watch. A bit slow in places.

A real heart-racer though, kept me on the sege of my seat!!

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