I’ve been meaning to watch this film for many years, Pan’s Labyrinth (or El laberinto del fauno) has been a staple of the gothic/fantasy/alternative films to come out in the 21st centuary along with some choice Burton films such as The Corpse Bride or The Nightmare Before Christmas. However, I believe that Guillermo del Toro transcends the usual cookey yet creepy Burton version of gothic films and takes it several steps above.

 

For a start, the film is rated as a 15 universally (for graphic violence and strong language) many ‘gothic’ directors do somewhat romanticize violence and death often alluding to it or glamorizing it whereas Toro doesn’t shy away from the gristly truth. I think Toro films such as Pans Labyrinth, Crimson Peak, The Devils Backbone and Mimic are all fantastic examples of how Del Toro masterfully treats violence as brutal, but necessary. However I think that the violence fits perfectly into Pan’s Labyrinth. The film itself is regarded as a darker, twisted version of Alice in Wonderland. However I was worried that the ‘adult themes’ of violence and language would be shoehorned in, unnecessary and in bad taste; violence for the sake of violence.

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Although, I couldn’t have been more wrong. The violence is very much part of the verisimilitude of the film. I was also worried about not understanding the film because it is in Spanish. I watched the film a total of 2 times, once in English and once again in Spanish. (Some people say that a film is the same regardless of language, however I would disagree.) I watched the film first in English to get a full understanding of the film in my first language. However it was the second time around that really drew me into the film. But this might be due to my limited Spanish knowledge. The films themes of mystery and fantasy where made all the more real to me, because I myself could not understand what the characters where saying (you got the gist most of the time, but anyways…) when Ofelia is plunged into a lurid underworld the non-Spanish speaking audience is not dis-interested. But I found myself to be more engaged. The Spanish language adds strongly to the verisimilitude of Pan’s Labyrinth.

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I was also entranced by the special effects used within the film, and I took to the internet to find out how they were made. I was very pleased to find that the majority of the special effects were a mixture of complex makeup designs and animatronics, whilst I appreciate CGI (computer generated images) I think it has become overused, and the majority of the time isn’t believable as robotics or makeup.

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The lighting techniques used within Pan’s labyrinth are very telling of the director’s intent to show the audience the reality, and the fantasy of the protagonist. The protagonist played by (Ivana Baquero) lives in the dull world, with many muted blues, browns, greens and greys. The lightning is very dimly lit, but is still able to cast shadows adding literal and metaphorical darkness. The lighting is Ophelia’s ‘reality’ is juxtaposed by her ‘fantasy’. Her fantasy land is, at first, not overwhelmingly scary. The lighting acts to highlight the feast and the mysterious ‘pale man’. Who has sins forth become a gothic icon. The music plays a crucial role in the film, as it promotes the action on screen and can usually set the tone and pace of a scene. Ophelia’s costume fits within the verisimilitude of the film, which is set in 1944, the normality also juxtaposes her fantasy world and makes her stand out. The camera work helps the audience sympathise with the protaganists struggle by using high angles for her, and low angles to promote her enemies.