Pan’s Labyrinth is a beautiful and imaginative fantasy worthy of all six academy award nominations. This film has amazing style as it weaves its way between a harsh reality and a child’s fairytale world.
Ofelia is a young girl who travels with her very sick pregnant mother to the country where her new stepfather lives. He is a sadistic captain in Franco’s army, and we learn very quickly that he is a horrible man capable of atrocious acts of violence. Trapped by her circumstances, Ofelia discovers (or creates) a fantasy world where she is Princess Moana, striving to complete three tasks in order to escape her terrible reality and return to her kingdom in the underworld.
This film is a visual masterpiece with fascinating imagery. Even the cruelness of the real world is felt and the audience shares Ofelia’s desire to get away. While I think Pan’s Labyrinth faces very tough competition for art direction, it stands a good chance of winning the Oscar. I imagine with its critical acclaim here in the US it will also win Best Foreign film, and it better win Achievement in Makeup. The musical score was beautiful and deserves the nomination; however I am not sure that it was mind blowing enough to win the Academy Award. Unfortunately I also do not think it will fair as well in cinematography, because Children of Men was so groundbreaking and stunning in this category.
Finally, Pan’s Labyrinth is also nominated for Best Original Screenplay and here I find myself torn. Not only because the competition in this category is extremely excellent, but because some of the dialogue in this film was weak and some of the scenes unnecessary. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a brilliant and original story that is captivating. But as a script, I’m not sure that it was flawless.
There is much debate about whether or not Ofelia’s fairytale world is real or just imagined by her as an escape mechanism, and there is plenty of evidence in the film to make a case for either side. Guillermo del Toro (writer and director) has said in an interview that he believes in Ofelia’s world, but its up for the viewer to decide. How very ambiguous of him. J
At the end of the movie she is shot by her evil stepfather when she decides she cannot sacrifice her innocent baby brother to the Faun. As she is dying, her blood drips into the portal and she is transported to her new kingdom where her real mother and father wait for her (both have passed away in the movie). In the real world she has died, but her stepfather is also killed and there is hope for change.
