What Parents Should Know
Parents need to know that, while this gorgeous, subtitled
Spanish fantasy-drama focuses on an 11-year-old girl's
experience, it's not meant for children. It's full of mature
themes and violent scenes (including the bloody death of a
child) -- in fact, it opens on the face of a child who has been
hurt, her mouth bleeding. The villain is a captain in the
fascist military who repeatedly brutalizes others: He berates
his wife, threatens his stepdaughter, kills villagers (beating
them and shooting point-blank), and tortures his servant.
Weapons include guns, knives, and grenades; some violent acts
are explicit on screen (pain and bloody wounds visible). Some
of the creatures Ofelia meets are frightening: The giant toad,
the Faun, and the Pale Man are all strange, noisy, and
physically threatening. Language includes two uses of
"f--k."
Families can discuss the nature of fairy tales. How do they reflect (and comment upon) real-life experiences? In this movie, how do Ofelia's experiences in the fantastical world mirror what she's going through at home? What might the Faun symbolize? How does the film make Ofelia's journey through the labyrinth both internal (as she matures) and external (as she faces obstacles in her environment)? How does Ofelia become more "adult" as the movie progresses? How does she show bravery, thoughtfulness, and compassion as she embarks upon her tasks? Based on the film's ending, what do you think really happened?
Common Sense Media Review
Part fairy tale, part adventure story, and part political
allegory, PAN'S LABYRINTH (
El Laberinto del Fauno) is, most wonderfully, focused on
a brave little girl. "A long time ago, in the Underground
Realm," murmurs the narrator, "there lived a princess who
dreamt of a human world." As the princess dreams of soft
breezes and blue skies, the camera glides through a dark blue
world, where castles are built into underground cavern
walls.
And as 11-year-old Ofelia (the phenomenal Ivana Baquero) lies quietly, she also bleeds from her mouth. Thus, to a degree, the start of Guillermo del Toro's movie reveals its ending. The bulk of the story takes place above ground, in 1944: Ofelia is traveling with her pregnant mother, Carmen (Ariadna Gil), en route to her new stepfather's military outpost in Northern Spain. But Capitán Vidal (Sergi López) has no interest in Ofelia or even her mother -- all he cares about is passing on his name and legacy to the son Carmen carries.
Luckily for Ofelia, she meets Mercedes (Maribel Verdú), Vidal's housekeeper. Warm and noble, she's also secretly helping the maquis who hide in the woods while they plan strikes against the fascists. Mercedes maintains her cover, tending to Vidal while slipping information to the rebels. Ofelia's journey parallels Mercedes'; their stories are both fantastic and strange, incorporating conventions of fairy and folk tales, legends, and myths.
As Ofelia tells her unborn brother stories about the war she's seen ("a sad, faraway land"), she opens the way into her own present, which is overseen by a Faun (Doug Jones). He identifies her as the Underground Realm's long-missing Princess Moanna and hands her a book full of blank pages, declaring that it will show her future. She must follow its instructions to discover whether she's worthy of being the princess and returning to her kingdom.
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