"Pan's Labyrinth" is one of those films that's so moving, heartbreaking and wonderfully haunting, you sigh when the end credits roll.
Pan's Labyrinth (2006)
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Reviews Counted:188
Fresh:179
Rotten:9
Average Rating:8.5/10
Consensus: Pan's Labyrinth is Alice in Wonderland for grown-ups, with the horrors of both reality and fantasy blended together into an extraordinary, spellbinding fable. Told through the eyes of a little girl whose imaginary world is inhabited by nightmarish creatures, Pan's Labyrinth is a visually imaginative and allegorical take on the fears she faced in Spain during WWII.
Rated: R [See Full Rating] for graphic violence and some language
Runtime: 1 hr 59 mins
Genre: Horror/Suspense
Theatrical Release:Dec 29, 2006 Limited
Box Office: $37,384,484
Synopsis: Written and directed by Guillermo del Toro, PAN'S LABYRINTH is a thrilling, violent fairy tale set in post-Civil War Spain. Ivana Baquero stars as Ofelia, a young girl who moves with her mother,... Written and directed by Guillermo del Toro, PAN'S LABYRINTH is a thrilling, violent fairy tale set in post-Civil War Spain. Ivana Baquero stars as Ofelia, a young girl who moves with her mother, Carmen (Ariadna Gil), into the home of Captain Vidal (Sergi López), in an abandoned mill in the middle of dark, dangerous woods. Vidal is leading his team of soldiers against resistance fighters--and he will do whatever is necessary to kill every last one of them. As Vidal bosses around the pregnant Carmen, a flying creature leads Ofelia through a garden labyrinth and into an underground cave ruled by Pan (HELLBOY's Doug Jones), who believes that Ofelia might be the lost princess of this strange yet magical place. To prove she is royalty, Ofelia must complete three tasks, each more difficult and terrifying than the previous one. Meanwhile, Vidal is becoming more and more paranoid, torturing and murdering seemingly at will. Del Toro (THE DEVIL'S BACKBONE, HELLBOY, CRONOS) creates a marvelous battle between good and evil, between heroes and villains, in both the real world aboveground and the mystical land below. Baquero gives a compelling performance as the terrorized Ofelia, who is befriended by Mercedes (Maribel Verdú), a woman who harbors some secrets of her own. Stellar production design, superb special effects, and a stirring score by Javier Navarrete add to the scary fun. Selected as the closing-night entry in the 2006 New York Film Festival, PAN'S LABYRINTH is a captivating story that is not for the squeamish. [More]
Starring: Ivana Baquero, Sergi Lopez, Maribel Verdú, Ariadna Gil
Starring: Ivana Baquero, Sergi Lopez, Maribel Verdú, Ariadna Gil, Doug Jones, Alex Angulo, Roger Casamajor, Ivana Massague
Director: Guillermo Del Toro
Director: Guillermo Del Toro
Screenwriter: Guillermo Del Toro
Producer: Berta Navarro, Alfonso Cuaron, Frida Torresblanco, Alvaro Augustin
Composer: Javier Navarrete
Studio: Picturehouse
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Reviews for Pan's Labyrinth
The movie is that original, and that attuned to the power of myth. I don't see why it shouldn't sit on the same altar of High Fantasy as the Lord of the Rings trilogy -- it's that worthy.
Guillermo del Toro gives us one of the masterpieces of the fantasy film.
The sets, the sights and the sounds are original and imaginative, but the dirty little secret is that a little of it goes a long, long way.
There are lessons to be taken from Pan’s Labyrinth -- the value of belief, hope and courage, for example -- but the whole is such a dingy downer that despite the fine performances on display, it is impossible to recommend it.
Del Toro's gratifying surreal and fantastical instincts now have an unstinting moral eye on the world. Saying a filmmaker has matured suggests that he's forgone what made him so entertaining in the first place.
Pan's Labyrinth works on several levels. It boldly captures the horror of war, the bloody violence as well as the emotional stifling of the soul, and juxtaposes it with the enchantment of a nether land bathed in hope and eternity.
Pan's Labyrinth plays with dark magic, a hideous enchantment spun with grief and torment. It is emotionally devastating and sensuously rich: Details are as sharp as the ching of a straight-edge razor, as strange as the squeal of a magic root.
This isn't kids' stuff, though adventuresome teens would find plenty here to engage them. It's dark poetry set to startling images, a one-of-a-kind nightmare that has a soaring, spiritual center. It's not to be missed.
It's pitch-perfect, impeccably conceived and replete with subtext and meaning. It is, in other words, a masterpiece.
It all adds up to what many regard as the year's best film (a National Board of Review best picture), a work of imagination that is thrilling and feels like something completely new.
Technically magnificent and flawlessly acted, the picture incorporates 20th century Spanish history and classic fairy-tale elements in a way that seems completely new.
Pan's Labyrinth, like del Toro's previous and related The Devil's Backbone, is a saturated vision, an artist's work. What it lacks is successful unity.
The dark violence of the film (parents, note: Pan's Labyrinth is not for children) is leavened by its invention -- by the way it pushes the limits of reality and fantasy, each world overlapping with the other.
A magical, frightening and heartbreaking movie for adults who want to take the journey, and read the subtitles.
Fairytales are seeded in the darkest of forests, and Pan's Labyrinth emanates as one of the most enticing.
Like the folk tales from centuries past, Pan's Labyrinth is a dark odyssey with nightmarish visions and cruel threats...
Latest News for Pan's Labyrinth
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November 14, 2008:
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RT caught up with Hellboy II director Guillermo del Toro at the DVD/Blu-ray Launch Event for Hellboy II: The Golden Army, where the celebrated fantasy auteur shared his favorite... More...
July 13, 2008:
Guillermo del Toro - RT's Dinner and the Movies Interview
We have an extended chat with the director of Cronos, Pan's Labyrinth and this week's Hellboy II to talk about his career past, present and future and tap him for juicy... More...
July 01, 2008:
Edinburgh 2008: What to Watch
We share twenty of the best films screened at the Edinburgh International Film Festival, currently running in the Scottish city. More...
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