Mature Told What To Do

Pan's Labyrinth
Director: Guillermo Del Toro
Model: Ariadna Gil, Maribel Verdu, Ivana Baquero, Sergi Lopez, Doug Jones
Year: 2006
Origin: Mexico - Spain - USA



Spain, 1944. Carmen, expecting a child, and her daughter Ofelia move to live in a garrison manned by Franco's fascists and constantly threatened and attacked by a group of partisans. Ofelia manages to forget the horror of war and the brutality of his stepfather Vidal befriending with a mysterious faun, and find to be the princess of a magical kingdom. To be able to reach the girl must pass three tests that will tell the faun ...

Guillermo Del Toro ... it's amazing how this young Mexican was able to make a name as a director in a few years, splitting half his career in commercial films (Blade II , Hell Boy) and originals raids in historical films horror-fantasy twist . And after El Espinazo del Diablo (never came, alas, to touch the shores Italian) here's a second fantasy film set in Spain's Francisco Franco, a new story where dark atmospheres and insights burtoniane combine with a remarkable visual violence due to the historical context addressed. In fact, the first impression of waiting to see a fantasy film for children is soon destined to fall victim of heavy images of torture and death that you let go of the fascist-communist partisans against the perpetrators: The Labyrinth is not absolutely a children's film, since the mass violence on screen is heavy, tragic and terribly likely (terrible torture against a stutterer). And, in hindsight, one can say that the film is not totally successful just because the film deals with some hastily part "magic", preferring instead that historical / violent right to express his political contempt towards the fascist ideology (a contempt that has its roots, read about, from his very Catholic grandmother). This does not mean that the film's failure, indeed the great moments of cinema are found mainly in the sequences visionary (the second round of the beautiful Ophelia, inspired by the greek myth of Demeter and Persephone, and may rely on the appearance of a scary monster eyes on the hands), but there is no doubt that the two approaches are not well mixed and sequences burtoniane appear fairly short in comparison to the history of supporting the war between the partisans and the terrifying fascist Colonel Vidal. About the latter one can not but mention the unique interpretation of Sergi Lòpez: Vidal è un uomo spietato, sadico e freddo che ben incarna l'ideale tipico del fascista di quegli anni, capace di torturare orribilmente le persone col sorriso sulle labbra, assolutamente convinto di quel che fa. Meno memorabile è invece l'interpretazione di Ofelia ad opera della Verù, abbastanza spenta e monoespressiva tanto da farsi domandare cos'abbia visto in lei Del Toro. Alla fine comunque il finale incredibilmente tragico e commovente riesce comunque a far rimanere Il Labirinto del fauno sufficientemente a memoria tale da considerarlo un originale e bel film, seppur un pò confuso tra i due versanti cinematografici su cui viaggia. Ottimi gli effetti speciali e le scenografie, che faranno vincere al film diversi oscar.