|
Set after the Spanish Civil War, 12 year old Ofelia
escapes into her fantasy world inspired by the books she's
read. Her mother has remarried after the death of Ofelia's
father to a brutish, sadistic Francoist fighting rebels
in the war torn countryside. Ofelia meets Pan a creature
that convinces her that she is the reincarnation of a princess
of the underworld who died ages ago. Her father the King
has been waiting for her to be reborn but to prove that
she is indeed a princess she must accomplish three tasks
before the next full moon so she can be reunited with her
father and mother.
Like Del Toro's other films "The Devil's Backbone"
and "Cronos", "El Laberinto del Fauno" is a powerful occasionally
gruesome sad fantasy film. This isn't fantasy as in "The
Wizard of Oz" but darker much closer in tone to the original
colorful (and equally gruesome)Grimm Brothers fairytales.
Del Toro's film shares a sensibility with some of Terry
Gilliam's darker films. If you didn't enjoy "The Devil's
Backbone" or any of Del Toro's other films, then you won't
enjoy this often visually stunning sad tale.
|
