10. PAN’S LABYRINTH. (2006)
Directed by Guillermo Del Toro
At this stage of the list, we’re dealing with ten films that could all, easily, have been ranked number one; ten films that would, absolutely, deserve that ranking.
Guillermo Del Toro’s best film, PAN’S LABYRINTH is an extraordinary ride, with elements of historical drama, fantasy, gothic horror, thriller and a coming of age story. Set in Spain, during the Spanish Civil War, Del Toro’s film hums with invention and delivers an exquisitely crafted fairy tale, which sits incredibly comfortably alongside the historical drama.
Del Toro, throughout his career, has always been a great storyteller, as can be seen in his early, exploitation-horror work, through to his work on the HELLBOY films. PAN’S LABYRINTH has most in common with THE DEVIL’S BACKBONE, from the period setting, to the child protagonist and ghostly, otherworldly theme. This is, much, the better film, though.
The film begins with a young girl, Ofelia (played by Ivana Baquero) who with her mother (Ariadna Gil) is moving in with her new step-father, a fascist army captain (Sergi Lopez) at his base in rural Spain. While there, she stumbles across a beguiling, yet dangerous fantasy world, seemingly guarded by Pan, a mysterious faun-like creature, which offers her a possible escape from the terrifying real world she’s moved into.
As the cruel Captain Vidal, Lopez gives a superb performance. If you don’t believe, entirely, in his capacity for evil, then the whole concept of the film fails. His work is mirrored by both Gil and Baquero, who bring their characters hauntingly to life. Maribel Verdu as Mercedes, Vidal’s maid and a communist rebel sympathiser, is also terrific. What really stands out, though, is the brilliance of the character design in Ofelia’s fantasy world.
Del Toro’s career has much in common with that of Peter Jackson, a similar beginning in schlocky horror movies and then a superb record of character design and visual excellence. It’s with no small amount of thought that I say that this is better than any of Jackson’s films. The invention of just about every frame of the film is jaw-dropping. It really deserves to be seen on several occasions, so it’s possible to take in the scope of Del Toro’s imagination, and the skill evident in bringing it to the screen.
Just as impressive is the way in which he has melded the more fantastical elements of the story to the ‘real’ events in Ofelia’s life. There’s just as much attention and detail being paid to every inch of Captain Vidal’s house as there is Pan’s lair. The use of set and sound design doesn’t generally excite many people, but here is the textbook example of how to use technical, and design skills to the very best possible effect for your film. Of all of the brilliant scenes in this film, my mind invariably flies back to two in particular.
There’s the scene where Ofelia, carrying out Pan’s instructions encounters a horrifying creature (pictured above), and her childlike curiosity places her in immediate, terrifying danger. It’s sensationally well directed, and the sense of peril is overwhelming. Secondly, the scene in which we witness Vidal shaving; it emphasises everything we know about the character, his insecurity, perfectionism, compulsiveness and obsession. It’s hammered home by the sound of the razor against his skin, repetitive, chilling and violent. It’s an extraordinary moment, and the juxtaposition between the two shows off the real skill of the director, someone who can utilise all of the tools at his disposal to create wildly different, yet similarly overwhelming scenes, within the same film, and have them sit comfortably together in the film as a whole.
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