In 1944 Spain, a girl is sent to live with her ruthless stepfather. During the night, she meets a fairy who takes her to an old faun. He tells her she's a princess, but must prove her royalt... Read allIn 1944 Spain, a girl is sent to live with her ruthless stepfather. During the night, she meets a fairy who takes her to an old faun. He tells her she's a princess, but must prove her royalty by surviving three gruesome tasks.In 1944 Spain, a girl is sent to live with her ruthless stepfather. During the night, she meets a fairy who takes her to an old faun. He tells her she's a princess, but must prove her royalty by surviving three gruesome tasks.
- Won 3 Oscars
- 109 wins & 115 nominations total
- Sacerdote
- (as Paco Vidal)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaGuillermo del Toro is famous for compiling books full of notes and drawings about his ideas before turning them into films, something he regards as essential to the process. He left years worth of notes for this film in the back of a cab, and when he discovered them missing, he thought it was the end of the project. However, the cab driver found them and, realizing their importance, tracked him down and returned them at great personal difficulty and expense. Del Toro was convinced that this was a blessing and it made him ever more determined to complete the film.
- GoofsWhen Ofelia goes down the stairs in the labyrinth and is talking to the Faun, his shadow still shows Doug Jones' legs while they are in the stilts. The special effects crew took out his physical legs, but the shadow still exists.
- Quotes
Capitán Vidal: Tell my son the time that his father died. Tell him...
Mercedes: No. He won't even know your name.
- Crazy creditsThe two "Stick Insects" are credited as Cheech and Chong, after which it says "MAY THEY REST IN PEACE".
- Alternate versionsThere are three different versions. Runtimes are: "1h 58m (118 min), 2h (120 min) (Finland)" and "1h 52m (112 min) (Toronto International) (Canada).
- ConnectionsFeatured in Siskel & Ebert: The Best Films of 2006 (2006)
- SoundtracksLong, Long Time Ago/Hace mucho, mucho tiempo
Written by Javier Navarrete
Produced by Emmanuel Chamboredon Ian P. Hierons
Courtesy of Milan Entertainment
This film is definitely not for young children. Although the fantasy sequences are gorgeously realised, and are fairy tales in the truest sense (in that they are dark, fey, dangerous and violent), most of the story (about three quarters of it, in fact) exists outside of the dreamland, in the even more frightening (and sometimes shockingly violent) world of a real life struggle of ideas and ideology.
Sergi Lopez is excellent as the brutal (and possibly sadistic) Falangist Captain tasked with routing out the remaining leftists from the woods and hills of Northern Spain. Into this precarious situation come his new wife (a widow of a former marriage, who is carrying his son) and his stepdaughter Ofelia (played to absolute perfection, by the then 11 year old, Ivana Baquero).
Uncomfortable with her new surroundings, suspicious of her stepfather and desperately concerned about the worsening condition of her mother, Ofelia uncovers a strange alternative world, and the chance to escape forever the pain and uncertainty of her everyday life.
Thus the film alternates between the world of Civil War Spain and the increasingly bizarre, dark and frightening world of the Pan's Labyrinth. As the twin plots progress, they intertwine, with the tasks of Ofelia becoming the choices faced by a Spain at the crossroads. The poignancy of the film lies partly in the fact that the victories of the child are reflected so starkly by the failures of the adult world.
Apparently Pan's Labyrinth won a 20-minute standing ovation at Cannes, when it was shown. This may be a little bit over the top. I suspect when the furore has died down some will choose to swing the pendulum back and criticise it for its more obvious faults. Much of the film is derivative. There are few ideas in the film's magical dreamworld that haven't been seen before. There are also few ideas in the film's depiction of the Civil War that can't be read in Satre or Orwell; can't be viewed in Picasso's Guernica; or can't be watched in Land and Freedom.
For all the evident truth of these observations, to accept them would be to entirely miss the majesty of Pan's Labyrinth, which doesn't lie in its originality but its absolute mastery of execution. People will watch Pan's Labyrinth in a way that most won't watch Land and Freedom. In doing so, they will also discover a world of fairy tales which existed before Disney sunk its claws into them: a dangerous world, where nothing is as it seems and every step is a possible death a place which may leave even adults shivering under the duvet, part in terror, part in wonder. And all this backed up by the finest cinematography I've seen.
The only real faults I am prepared to allow for this film is a slight tendency (particularly at the end) for a Narnia-like moralism, and the fact that the faun is, perhaps, is not quite wild enough! These are eminently forgivable, though. This is easily the best film I've seen this year, and a must see on the big screen.
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Also known as
- El laberinto del fauno
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $19,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $37,646,380
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $568,641
- Dec 31, 2006
- Gross worldwide
- $83,863,565
- Runtime1 hour 58 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1