EL Laberinto del fauno ***Spoilers Ahead***
A girl on the verge of adolescence is thrust into a brutal nightmare of violence and horror. And this is the reality in the movie.
Half of the movie is this girl's reality - which takes place during WWII years of 1944 but centers on the civil war happening in Spain. Franco's fascist soldiers are attempting to round up peasant resistant fighters that are living in the mountains and forests. The fighters are encouraged by the recent allied victories in France but are nevertheless out manned, out gunned and are low on provisions. The sadistic captain - expertly played by veteran Spanish actor Sergi Lopez - clearly despises young Ofelia and her mother, the captain's wife.
Ofelia is an avid reader - of fantasy and make believe. Her mother and step-father captain forbid such nonsense. But Ofelia's mind will not be denied its retreat from reality. Director Guillermo del Toro does not shy away from the frightening aspects that underlie fairy tales. This is a fairy tale for adults. From the first appearance of the faun or the giant frog, Ofelia shows no fear. In fact she shows more reaction from a flying insect than the moss covered, towering faun. Do these creatures exist only in the mind of a 12 year old girl escaping the brutal realty of war or has she stumbled upon a truly magical place that needs her? I'll leave that for you to discover.
We are left to ask ourselves if the faun represents good or evil. Certainly he presents Ofelia with exactly those choices. Notice how the faun gains youth as the film progresses. Initially he is old, gray, moldy. As he spends time with Ofelia, he becomes, subtly, younger. His hair richer, his movements livelier. The faun gains strength from his interactions with the girl. Near the end of the movie he demands a sacrifice of Ofelia that actually pushes her out of the fantasy world and into the reality. Ofelia is just as out of place in the real world as her fantasy world.
The movie is visually stunning. The fantasy creatures are original and detailed. The pale man image stays with you long after the movie is over... his loose pale skin, his eyes in the palms of his hands, his taste for blood. There is a pile of children's shoes nearby that points to the horrors of the holocaust in neighboring Germany. The same actor plays both the faun and the pale man. You will not recognize Doug Jones here but you will have seen him in Hellboy, Men in Black and Adaptation. What originality he brings to these creatures.
Another interesting casting choice here is Maribel Verdu in the role of partisan sympathizer Mercedes. We fell in love with her in the 2001 Mexican indie hit Y tu mama tambien. She shows a love for the young Ofelia which endears us to her. Her story line role morphs during the film from subservient servant to brutally feisty guerilla. Maribel handles the task expertly.
Enjoy this movie as fantasy, Enjoy this movie as a parable on the good and bad in mankind. Enjoy this movie as a taste of history on the Spanish civil war. But above all, enjoy this movie.
This movie made our Top 100 Movie List.
Great review! I loved this movie too.
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